The Catacombs of Destiny
by cyathula
Summary: Another version of the infamous final Book 2 ep. but where Aang gets no random epiphany to rescue Katara and Zuko gets what he wished for! And then what path will he choose, and what outcomes might arise from that?
1. Chapter 1: The Crystal Catacombs

_I find it odd that I haven't come across a single fanfiction so far where Katara actually does heal Zuko in the Crystal Catacombs! It was so close and almost happened! I extended their conversation and their stay in the caves so they might better know each other, as well. Anyway, another major change I've made here is that Aang never developed a big romantic thing for Katara, it never felt right to me in the series, I mean he's a monk and he's twelve..._

_Interesting, relevant note: if you can read Chinese or saw a translation of the actual Zuko/Iroh wanted posters, it says this: _The Fire Lord orders the arrest of the two traitors, Iroh and Zuko. General Iroh was once known as the Dragon of the West. Zuko was once known as the Crown Prince to the Fire Lord. Both traitors refused orders to wipe out the Water Tribe as well as capturing the Avatar. Wanted Dead or Alive.

_If I was Zuko and I read that I was branded a traitor and could be brought back dead... not sure I'd trust Azula anymore than I ever did._

_Oh yes, there are POV changes, as denoted by -k- (Katara) and -z- (Zuko), and others._

_I don't own Avatar, or things would have been hella different. There may be quotes lifted from the series._

_**Much revised! I have a habit of always re-reading and editing my stories, so check back often for edits of my recently uploaded stories! I just currently expanded more of Katara's thoughts on Zuko here, and other things that hopefully makes the story run smoother. If any of you guys notice any odd mistakes, or have any suggestions, please send me a review!_

* * *

**The Catacombs of Destiny**

Ch 1: The Crystal Catacombs

-k-

"How could I have been so _stupid_!" Katara screamed, her words echoing all around her. She barely registered the clusters of large crystal formations that glowed with an eerie, bluish-green light, jutting from the walls and floor around her. She only knew she was in some kind of pit. A prison. And she had just become its new occupant. Under different circumstances, she might have been struck with awe at the luminescent crystal beauty around her, but today was not that day. Katara sat down on the cold, damp floor and covered her face in her hands.

_If only..._

If only they had just all stayed to meet the "Kyoshi warriors" when they came to visit the Earth King... Then they might've had a fighting chance... But no, they had to all run off on their respective quests and Sokka just happened to not go nuts and demand to see Suki! Katara groaned into her hands.

Now she was alone. Utterly alone. Sokka had gone to see Dad, and Aang had gone off to perfect the Avatar state at some far away Air temple. She mentally kicked herself after some time, berating herself for thinking such selfish thoughts. _It was actually a good thing_, she thought,_ thank goodness Aang wasn't here, or he would have fallen into Azula's hands. Sokka is safe, and the only one in trouble is me. _ She sighed, and lifted her face out of her hands, a determined look planted on her face. _No problem, I will find a way out. I am _not_ gonna be anybody's problem._

Katara got up with a renewed vigor, and made her way around the small space, tapping random crystals and peering hard at the walls. She listened for water, but felt nothing. Upon the fourth round of inspection, a lump of emotion had risen in her throat, and she tried hard to swallow it down. Finally, she stopped, and her hands dropped to her sides. She swallowed hard again, and squeezed her eyes, trying to keep the dam of emotions in check. Sighing, she wrapped her arms around her body, finally feeling the odd, damp chill in the cave air. It felt different from the cold in the South Pole, where the air was biting but dry. This damp chill felt like it seeped into her very bones, and made her feel quite uncomfortable, like she'd never be warm again...

Suddenly, a loud rumble startled her. The ground shook. Light poured down from an opening hole above.

"We got some company for you, little girl!"

Katara dove out of the way as a body came crashing down. The earth rumbled again, and the light from the hole disappeared. She blinked at the shaggy-haired boy crumpled in a heap in front of her. He was dressed like a waiter from an upscale restaurant and had a familiar scar on his face. She gasped. "Zuko!"

Zuko's look of shock at his cellmate lasted all but a minute before his trademark scowl covered his face. "Hmph." He hurried to the far side of the cave and sat down, facing the wall.

Katara rose and placed one hand on the cap of her waterskin. "Where'd you come from?"

No answer. Then she remembered she had run off to warn the Earth King about the Fire Prince hiding away in a teashop, only to find the Prince's evil sister there as well. Azula heard her frantic warning about her brother, then must've gone to collect him... Now, Zuko certainly wasn't a friend, but based on the last time they met, she realized he wasn't on his sister's good side, either. So, if what the wanted posters said was true (_...Permission is granted to kill them on sight_), she had just gotten him into big trouble.

But, she wasn't about to tell him that.

"What're you doing here, Zuko? Why are you here in Ba Sing Se? Were you still following us? Trying to capture the Avatar?"

He turned his head just enough to glare at her with his bad eye. It was actually rather intimidating.

"And here I thought that you might've given up chasing after us! I mean, we started seeing wanted posters for you, and you hadn't shown up for so long, but no, I guess you were still following us!"

She thought she heard a frustrated sigh. "No? Then deny it!" she cried.

Zuko suddenly stood up.

Katara stepped back, ready to uncork her waterskin.

He turned around, scowling at her. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Care to explain?"

He turned back around. "No."

Katara rolled her eyes. "Then I'm correct."

"You're not."

"Then why were you here?"

He sighed exasperatedly. "We were just happily minding our own business, okay? Now mind your own and be quiet, peasant!"

Unfortunately, that only riled the waterbender up even more. "'_Minding your own business?_' The Fire Nation never just minds their own business. You're all the same! Spreading death and destruction wherever you go! How dare you tell me to mind my own business when the Fire Nation won't mind their own? How dare you ruin the lives of so many people. How dare you tear families apart and do unspeakable things! How dare you t-torture and kill my mother!"

This time Zuko faced her fully, but instead of a perpetual scowl, his expression was sad. "I didn't kill her." He looked her in the eyes. "And I find torture of any kind distasteful. I am sorry about your mother. That's something we have in common."

Katara widened her eyes, her anger replaced with confusion. "The Fire Nation killed your mom, too? Wait, isn't she the Fire Lady? Why would they do that?"

He sat down and looked away. "I just meant I lost her, too. She disappeared one night, and never came back."

Katara frowned. That still didn't sound as bad as what happened to her mother. But the anguished pain she saw on his face was real, and she could tell his hurt wasn't any less than hers. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have blown up at you."

"It doesn't matter."

"It's just that, for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face," Katara said.

Zuko winced and raised his fingers to his scar. "My face. I see," he said, barely above a whisper.

"No no, that's not what I meant!" Katara cried, shaking her hands in front of her. "I just mean _you_, as in—just because you'd been following us all the time trying to capture Aang! And because you're the first Fire Nation person I've actually seen since—well, you're just the first Fire Nation person I've really met."

"I see," Zuko said, looking at her curiously. "Well it's okay. I used to think this scar marked me, the mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately, I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny, even if I'll never be free of this mark."

_Banished?_ _Cursed_ to chase Aang? _Free_ to determine his destiny? Suddenly she perked up. _Wait, does this mean he's given up on Aang?_ "And… what new destiny would that be?"

Zuko looked a bit deflated. "I don't know yet."

"Ah well..." Katara shrugged. "So... why are you here in Ba Sing Se?"

Zuko pursed his lips. "You've seen the damn posters everywhere. We're banished. We've _been _banished. But now my own people want us _dead_. We're just trying to survive here and start a new life... and surprise, surprise, my sister has come to ruin my life again!"

Katara didn't know what to think. This is just too weird, and she didn't understand. "Really? So you really weren't here to...?"

"No!" Zuko shouted, and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. 'No, I don't know! I just don't know, okay!" Katara frowned, trying to process this new Zuko, who wore a tea server's outfit, had a mop of hair, and who, for once, just looked more lost than angry. For so long, Zuko always just seemed like a generic, scary bad guy trying to capture her friend without a conscience. It was almost strange to realize that he might not just be an embodiment of pure evil.

"Why did you want to capture Aang in the first place?" Katara asked.

"The Avatar was my ticket back home... back to everything... I needed him to restore my honor. At least that's what I thought. But now I'm not so sure." He didn't seem like he was talking to her, but more to himself. Katara waited a half second. "Why not?" she finally asked.

Zuko scowled. "You wouldn't understand."

Katara rolled her eyes. "Try me."

The prince looked frustrated. "We should be looking for a way out, not wasting time here!"

"I was here before you. I've looked around this stupid place a million times already. There's nothing."

But Katara let the prince look and poke around the walls a few rounds anyway, and she watched, half hopeful he might actually find something. When Zuko finally let out a flaming huff of frustration, she sighed. "Well, what'd I tell ya."

Zuko cursed loudly, threw his hands up in the air, sat down on the floor, looking even more miserable than before. "Why do I always fail at _everything_? Why does she always get _everything?_"

Katara felt her heart drop. "You're not failing at anything, Zuko... I mean, you never give up, and that makes you one of the strongest people I know." He looked at her in surprise, and she thought saw a brief glimmer of something happy in his eyes before it dimmed again. "Your sister... she seems like a terrible person... Even if she does always get what she wants, I doubt she knows how to appreciate it, you know? And I bet when she does fail, she won't know how to handle it."

"She doesn't fail."

"Everybody fails, or they wouldn't be human," Katara said emphatically.

"Exactly, she's not human... she's a monster, just like my father."

Katara frowned. "Why do you even want to go back to the Fire Nation...?"

"I... It's my home! My homeland, my country, my people. Everything I know is there. Why wouldn't I want to go back to it? It's been three years!" Zuko yelled. But there was an edge of uncertainty in his voice and a tinge of sadness.

"_Three years?_ You'd been chasing Aang for three years?" Katara asked incredulously. "I only just found him a couple months ago..."

Zuko just scowled deeper. Katara shook her head, trying to piece together just what had happened to Zuko. He was banished three years ago by his father... The Avatar had been missing for a century already... Katara sucked in her breath. Surely Zuko knew his father pretty much just condemned him never to return home? It was really a stroke of luck that she found Aang only three years into his wildgoose chase.

"Well, Zuko, I miss my home, too. But I've realized now that what really makes a home are the people you are with. With good people, anywhere can be a home. Your father sounds... unbelievably heartless, and your sister, too. Would you really want to go back to them?"

Zuko didn't reply. His hands were fisted tightly, and his scowl was back, deeper than ever. Then suddenly he unclenched them. "Uncle!"

"'Uncle?'" Katara echoed uncomprehendingly, looking around her.

"My Uncle had escaped! I'm sure he's trying to find a way to save us!"

"Oh La! Thank goodness! See! Things will work out!" Katara cried. She was not alone! There was hope! And Zuko's giddy expression was enough to make her grin wider. He absolutely looked nothing like the scowling firebender that chased her around for so long before this. Except for his scar, which never moved, regardless of what expression he wore. Katara wondered passively how compromised his vision was since his left eyelids never could open wider than a slit. She wondered if she could heal it...

"Hey Zuko... how did you get your scar?"

Zuko's expression changed instantly from happy to murderous. "Why do you want to know!" he bit out.

Katara was slightly taken aback by Zuko's harsh reaction. Granted, the question was pretty random, but the murderous glare he was giving her suggested the story behind the scar was not a simple one. "Well, I was wondering how long you've had it... I was wondering if I could heal it. I mean, I don't know, but I do have healing abilities..."

His deep scowl softened considerably, and now he was just looking at her strange now, like she just turned into a rabbiroo and was flying around the room. Katara felt embarrassed all of the sudden, and mentally cursed herself for being so soft.

"It's a scar, it can't be fixed," Zuko said finally. "I've had it for about three years already."

"Oh, it has been a while, then..." Katara said. Regular water most likely won't work now... but she had the Spirit Oasis water! Part of her protested angrily, arguing the sacred water needed to be saved for much more important emergencies, and this guy is still technically the enemy. She had a gut feeling, however, and something tugged at her heart. _This is the right moment. Zuko needs my help, I know it._ She smiled at him as she took out a tiny pointed vial. "This is water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. Regular water probably won't work on your scar anymore, but this might. I mean, I still can't guarantee if it will work, but would you like me to try?"

Zuko looked so incredulous, yet so hopeful that Katara felt her heart ache. He looked almost cute, and it was just too much to bear. He nodded almost imperceptibly, and that was cue enough. Katara opened the vial, and both of them gasped slightly as the crystal clear liquid she conjured from it gave off a soft, ethereal glow. The prince then let out a sigh and closed his eyes. Even though it was expected he'd need to close his eyes, she still felt touched that he was letting himself trust her this much. She wrapped the cool water around her fingertips and gently touched the dark, angry ridges of where his left eyebrow should have been.

-z-

A gentle, cooling sensation took root above his left eye and he involuntarily let out a sigh of relief. It reminded Zuko of when he used to jump in the cool ocean waters of Ember Island on a scorching summer day. Her fingers stayed there for a few minutes before they moved a little lower to the corner of his eye, and the cool, soothing sensation moved with them. He could make out a faint, blue glow through his left eyelid, and watched as she slowly moved her healing touch across his eye to his ear. An odd, prickly sensation took root, and he grimaced. It felt like it was mutating and growing, and he would dearly have loved to see what was happening to his ear. The first thing that came to mind was that the waterbender was sabotaging it, until he remembered there wasn't much left to sabotage, anyway.

After a few more minutes, she moved on to his cheek. And then, after another feeling like he had taken a dip in the ocean waters for like an hour, he felt her touch lift. He opened his eyes, surprised at how much more he could open his left eye, though a hard crust seemed to have formed on it. He saw the waterbender in front of him, looking exhausted, but smiling.

"New skin has formed under your scar, Zuko. I hope it's better, though I can't guarantee it will be exactly what it was before." She bent the glowing water at her fingertips back into the vial. At leat half of it was gone.

He quickly looked around for a large facet of crystal to use as a mirror, and suppressed a surge of disappointment at the dark scar that was still on his face. _New skin's underneath_, he reminded himself. He raised his left hand to touch his scar. It had become a thick, removable crust. He quickly tugged at a corner and a part of it released. Excited, he pulled off all the dead skin and discovered that new, lighter colored skin had replaced areas of the burn. It was still darker and pinker than the rest of his skin, but it looked a hell of a lot better already. He touched his new skin lightly, amazed at the new tingling sensation that told him nerves were growing back on his cheek. Most importantly, he could open his left eye fully. The folds above his eye were new, and there was some resistance which he knew would disappear in time. His left eyebrow had grown back! Granted it was still a bit scraggly, but maybe it'll fix itself later. He turned his head and saw that his ear had grown back as well! He removed bits of old scar tissue that still clung to the folds of his ear. It was unbelievable, the joy was almost too much to handle. He blinked back tears, passively aware that he was blinking back the tears from _both_ eyes, which meant his left tear duct had been fixed as well.

Zuko turned to the girl, who looked on the brink of passing out. He reached out his arms to grab her on the shoulders and gently laid her next to the wall. "Thank you..." He suddenly realized he had no idea what her name was. "I... I don't know how I can ever repay you."

She looked at him sleepily and smiled. "Just don't chase after us anymore, okay?"

"I already haven't been doing that!"

"Well, then remember you're no failure. You're nothing like your father and sister, and thank goodness for that... you're a good person..." Katara murmured. Not a second later, Zuko head a faint snore.

The prince smiled faintly and sighed. She was starting to sound like bit like Uncle. Or do all positive people sound like Uncle? No, she reminded him of his mother. His gentle, encouraging mother. He leaned against the wall next to her, staring at but not seeing the crystals growing out of the wall across from him._ 'No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are.' _His mother had uttered those words to him that night she disappeared._ 'Everything I've done, I've done to protect you.'_

He lowered his eyes to the ground. He never understood what his mother meant when she said that. He still didn't understand just what she did for him, and disappearing on him was the worst thing she could have done. The next day after she disappeared, his grandfather had died, and his father was pronounced the new Fire Lord. He narrowed his eyes. Just what happened that night? What did she do? Did she... did she do something to his grandfather? Kill his grandfather? He never knew his mother to be violent in any way...

_'Everything I've done, I've done to protect you.'_

How was that supposed to protect him? It helped his father become the next Fire Lord. It helped turn his life upside down. He quelled a sudden surge of bitterness at his mother, and tried to focus instead, on the riddle she had left him. Zuko closed his eyes, remembering that night Azula appeared at the door to his room, taunting him.

_'Dad's gonna kill you. Really... he is.'_

That night he had witnessed his grandfather berating his father. His father had wanted to become the successor to the Fire Lord after Uncle Iroh had lost his son. His grandfather had been displeased at his father's lack of sympathy and told him his punishment had barely begun. Zuko had been too frightened to hear just what that punishment was. Azula then came to taunt him, only to be led away by his mother. Later that night, his mother showed up one last time when he was half-asleep and disappeared soon after. The next day, his grandfather was dead and his father was Fire Lord.

Somehow, it never seemed odd to him. Somehow, he wondered why he never saw it.

_'Everything I've done, I've done to protect you.'_

Why? Why would his mother kill his grandfather to protect him? Or maybe his father was the one who killed his grandfather? Horrified by such treachery, Zuko quickly pushed that out of his mind. Somehow, his mother doing the deed didn't seem quite so horrifying. A headache was forming. He rubbed his temples with his thumbs, vaguely pleased that his left temple wasn't a hard, bumpy scar anymore.

_'No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are.'_

So was the waterbender right? That his mother wanted him to remember that he wasn't his father?

_'That's who you are Zuko… someone who keeps fighting even though it's hard.'_

Zuko shook his head. He was giving the waterbender too much credit... His mother just wanted him to remember that he never gave up. He sighed. It didn't seem like enough though.

_'No matter how things may seem to change...'_

_No matter how much crap your father and sister will feel free to dish out to you once I'm gone..._ Zuko thought miserably. His mother had also thought there was something seriously wrong with Azula, though she never really said anything about his father. She helped his father gain the throne, and somehow that was to protect him.

He looked over at the waterbender girl, who was still fast asleep. Really, how was he going to repay her? He figured healing his scar was an obvious bribe for him to stop chasing the Avatar. In some ways, he was rather surprised at how he didn't really feel like pursuing the Avatar anymore, anyway. His uncle was right, even if he did bring the Avatar back, it probably wasn't going to make his father like him any more. His father only cared about Azula, the prodigy. Countless people had already tried to enlighten him that his father only thought of him as an abject failure...

How would he repay her... how...

Next thing he knew, he had also fallen asleep.

-k-

Katara woke up, shivering uncontrollably. She nearly cried out when she realized she had completely burrowed herself against Zuko's side. She wondered how this could have happened when she heard a faint snore. Good thing he was asleep. She slowly inched away and felt him sliding down with her. She reached out her arms to lean him back against the wall and crawled away, her cheeks red with embarrassment. Unfortunately, she realized that he really was a wonderful heat source and felt all the more chilled. But she wasn't going to go snuggle back up.

Her stomach suddenly growled. _Great_, she thought. _Just what I need._

Wasn't anyone going to toss some food their way? They were prisoners, and prisoners should at least get a few scraps of food! How many hours had passed? There was no way of knowing since the crystals were the only constant source of light. She rubbed her arms, trying to warm them up. This cave was chilly, like all caves... and damp, which made the chill somehow even colder and unbearable. Shivering non-stop now, she inched closer to Zuko, who was radiating a fair bit of heat.

She leaned back against the wall, now struck with nothing to do. Were they really going to be stuck here forever? Is Zuko's uncle really going to be able to bust them out? She sighed and looked over at where Zuko's angry scar used to be on his face. After finally getting his face fixed, no one will see it.

Wait, what was she thinking? Of course they'll be rescued! _But I'm going to die of frostbite before then..._

He looked so amazingly peaceful asleep; it seemed a shame to wake him up. So she just inched closer to him and stared at her handiwork on his face. She was so tired from the effort it took to force his body to regenerate new tissue underneath the hard, fibrous scar, that she had fallen asleep before she could get a good look at his new face. The new skin still contrasted sharply with the rest of his face, as it was darker and slightly sunken in. Yes, it was still a scar, but it should no longer restrict his movements or call as much attention to himself.

Really, Zuko looked much younger than she had thought. _Much younger, and much nicer to look at_. Katara quickly shook her head violently at the direction her thoughts had taken. _But of course he's nicer to look at! You got rid of his horrible scar! _She wondered how old he really was. She'd always thought he was much older than her, though now she figured it was because of the wrinkly, contorted scar. He actually didn't look that much older than her. It was a sobering thought actually, that he could be about the same age as her and have lived through so much grief. She had thought her life was rather tragic...but while she was angry that her dad had left her and Sokka when they were young, he didn't go banish them or wish them a passive death. She had a dumb but loving brother, not a cold, psychotic sister. And while Zuko was a prince...he seemed to have adapted to serving tea in teashops quite handily. Katara smiled at the new-found knowledge of her hopefully former enemy.

_Hopefully_ former enemy. She realized he still hadn't really given her an answer on what he was planning to do now. But what could he do anyway? _He could...he could join us! And teach Aang firebending! And take down the Fire Lord...! _Katara frowned. The Fire Lord may be evil, but he was still his father. Would he really want to go against his own dad? _Dammit_... She sighed heavily, rubbing her cold left arm, which was furthest away from the human stove that was Zuko. Her stomach growled, and she tried to suppress a violent shiver. Being a polite distance away from the boy just wasn't enough. And she refused to turn him into a nice, warm blanket.

"Zuko, I'm sorry for waking you up, but can you please make a fire? I'm going to die, I'm freezing!" The prince let out a yell and looked ready to firebend, but noticed her before anything happened. She lowered her arms that she threw up in defense. "Um, I'm sorry... but I was hoping you could bend some fire for me so I don't freeze to death..."

He looked at her uncomprehendingly. Another violent shiver shook her head to toe and he widened his eyes. "Oh, sorry, I guess I don't feel the cold at all..." In a flash, he called forth a ball of fire in his hand. Katara quickly leaned towards it and stuck out her hands at the wonderful, piping hot flames, and resisted hugging them altogether.

"Aren't you from the South Pole? Shouldn't you be used to this?"

Katara glared at him and stuck her nose up. "We wear proper furry clothing."

He snorted. "'Furry clothing.' I see."

Her stomach growled loudly again. She reddened in embarrassment. "Sorry."

Zuko frowned. "I'm pretty hungry, too. I hope my uncle hurries up and frees us."

"Just what happened anyway?" Katara asked, while stamping down some guilty feelings about alerting his sister to them in the first place.

"Yeah, we escaped from Azula when she was about to ambush us. She laid a trap, sending a telegram to us saying the Earth King wanted to try Uncle's tea. When we came, we got to see her instead. Well, I was sick of running from Azula all the time and stayed to fight. Uncle was already on his way out the window."

Katara laughed a bit, then sighed. "I'm really glad that at least your uncle knows you're captured somewhere. Aang's off learning from some guru...somewhere, Sokka's gone to meet Dad, and Toph's gone to meet her mom. No one has any idea where I am."

Silence fell as she turned herself to warm her arms against the nice, hot fire. She felt rather silly, like she was turning herself on a spit. She glanced at Zuko, who looked a little amused. She gritted her teeth.

"Say, uh, actually, what is your name?"

"Huh?" Katara looked at him, confused. _Really? _She never told him her name? No one ever told him her name? Then she realized that no one probably ever did, and why should they have? "I'm Katara. I guess no one ever told you our names, huh?"

He shook his head.

"Um, Aang is the Avatar. Sokka's my brother, and Toph is the earthbender."

"Toph? I don't remember her being in your party."

"Yeah, we first met her at this Earth Rumble tournament in Gaoling, where she hadn't lost a fight until Aang came along. Toph's tiny and blind, but she's the best earthbender in the world despite her age." Katara smiled as she thought of the little girl. "She has an attitude to match, too. You don—"

Suddenly, the wall behind them burst open, sending rocks flying their way. Katara felt Zuko smash into her, pushing her out of the way of the rocks.

"Zuko!" An old man cried happily. "Uncle!" Zuko cried as he braced his arms beside her to get up. She felt his weight lift, and was happy to breathe again. He seemed to have realized what happened, and asked if she was okay before offering a hand to help her up.

"Hey, Sugar Queen!"

"Toph!" Katara cried. She ran over and gave the girl a hug. "How'd you know I was here?"

Toph smiled her lopsided grin. "Well, my friend here came to the house and told me he was missing his nephew and needed help. I had just gotten back from bashing a couple idiots to the ground—"

"Hold on, what about your mom?"

Toph rolled her cotton eyes. "I should've known it was a trick. But I guess I wanted my mom to understand me so badly, I miscalculated. I guess my dad had paid these two idiots to capture me back, but I put them in their place. Anyway, when my friend here came to our house and told me he lost his nephew, I realized you should've been home by then, too. I could feel an uproar going on in the palace, so I figured you might've been in trouble, too!"

Katara looked over at Zuko, who was being bear-hugged by his uncle. "Hey, Uncle, have you even noticed anything different about me?"

His uncle took a step back. "Your scar! It's gone!" He stretched a hand and gingerly placed it on the side of Zuko's head. "Unbelievable" Then he looked straight at Katara. "Ahh, it must be the lovely lady over here that helped you!" Katara giggled slightly. His uncle had a huge grin on his face and he just looked so friendly and harmless that she couldn't help but like him right away. "You're the waterbender, aren't you? No wonder you could heal!"

"How d'you know that?" she asked, surprised.

"Wellll, when you get to my age, you get to know a lot of things," he replied slowly, grinning from ear to ear. "I believe some introductions are in order, Zuko."

"Uh, this is Katara... Katara, this is my Uncle Iroh." They bowed to each other courteously.

Katara put a hand on Toph's shoulder. "Here is Toph, the greatest earthbender in the world. Toph, this is Zuko, the guy that had been after our lives for the past many weeks."

"Hey!" Zuko cried, but Toph just grinned her lopsided smile even wider.

Suddenly, her grin dropped and she quickly shifted her right foot toward the hole they had come from. A stone wall suddenly shot up, and blue flames smashed against them.

-z-

"Azula..."

Zuko immediately dropped into a fighting stance and stood in front of his uncle. Azula marched purposefully toward them, dressed in the green and black garb of the Dai Li agents behind her. She had her customary smirk on her face and a hand up. The Dai Li stepped back, faces shadowed by their pointed hats.

"I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle, but Zuko, Prince Zuko...you're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, are you?"

Zuko gritted his teeth. _No..._

Azula raised an eyebrow. "My, Zuko, what happened to your scar? You _almost_ look like the noble prince you once were. Tell me, how did this happen?"

He only scowled deeper in reply.

"No matter." His sister shrugged. "I need you Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day. This glorious day in Fire Nation history, and the only way we win, is together. At the end of this day you will have your honor back, you will have Father's love, you will have anything you want."

"She's lying, Zuko! Why would they put up posters wanting you dead these past few weeks!" Katara cried.

Azula narrowed her eyes. "No one asked you to speak, peasant!" she hissed, and shot a ball of blue fire at the waterbender, who quickly manipulated a stream of water to turn the fire into steam. Toph narrowed her eyes and jerked her hand up, bringing up a spike of earth below Azula, but Azula had already somersaulted out of the way. Katara drew out another snake of water and held it steady like a whip.

"It's not too late for you, Zuko. You can still redeem yourself," Azula said silkily as she avoided another jut of earth and a lash from the water whip.

"The kind of redemption she offers is not for you—!" his uncle shouted. Zuko saw Azula's face harden, and caught the slightest movement of her eyes toward the Dai Li.

Crystals suddenly jutted out from the ground, trapping Iroh securely. "No!" Zuko and Toph cried, but only the earthbender was abruptly seized by Dai Li agents, who held her off the ground, each limb secured by an agent. Katara flung her arm in an arc, her whip of water following the same motion as it smashed against three of the agents, but they still held on tight. Just then, more Dai Li agents dropped from above her, their stone hands shooting towards Katara. Zuko punched a stream of fireballs at them, stopping some, but more kept coming. Soon, Katara's hands were locked in a rock cuff, and her water whip splashed lifelessly on the ground without her pull.

"Release them immediately!" Zuko yelled.

Azula continued to walk towards him, then stopped, extending a hand. "Father misses you, Zuko. He knows the importance of family. Leave this riff-raff, and join me, brother. This is your _divine right_, this is your _destiny_. Once we take Ba Sing Se, Father will be so proud of you and you will get your _honor_ back."

"No, Zuko!" He heard his uncle and Katara shout, and were quickly silenced by stone hands.

Redemption, his father's love, his country, and his crown. He could feel the honey-sweet words breaking down his resolve.

He squeezed his eyes shut, avoiding the pleading eyes of his uncle. His father, his nation... his honor. Yes, if he actually took the unconquerable city of Ba Sing Se, he would be a hero in the eyes of his people and his father. He wanted them so _badly_, it ached. He wanted to believe her so badly... but...

_Azula always lies._

He opened his eyes, narrowing them into slits. He would never be a hero to his people; Azula would never let that happen. And even if by a miracle, he did become a hero to his people, he would never be able to push out the betrayed, despising faces of the Earth Kingdom citizens he had gotten to know in his travels. The herbalist's daughter, the girl who had a crush on him, the boy who lost his brother to the war, the older boy who stole from the rich to give to the poor, the friendly tea shop customers... And, he would never, _ever_, be able to repay Katara for the selfless kindness she showed him by healing his hateful scar.

"You're a liar, Azula! You have always been a liar; you will _always_ be a liar!" Zuko hissed, and shot out a roundhouse kick at her head, fire arcing along his movements.

"Wrong choice, Zuzu!" Azula shrieked, dodging under his kick and returning a punch of blue fire. He countered it easily with his own red flames.

"You think I'd believe you now? You tried this trick once before already, trying to lure us in and imprison us!" Zuko yelled, sweeping the floor with his leg as she jumped. "I'm disappointed in you, sister, I thought you were perfect and would have come up with something more creative." He called forth fire in his hands and forced them into daggers of deep orange flame.

Azula's eyes narrowed into slits. He attacked her high and low with hot swipes from his daggers of fire, which she easily dodged. Suddenly, the daggers elongated and turned into whips, which she'd never seen him do before, and one sliced at her upper arm. A hole burned through her sleeve and the skin below welted red and angry. "You'll pay your life for this, Zuzu!" she screamed as she doubled over in unfamiliar pain. Undeterred, he swung out his other whip of fire like the waterbender had done, and arced it far and wide, catching the Dai Li who held the earthbender in surprise. They dropped Toph, and once her feet touched the ground, she became the epicenter of a wave of rock, knocking the Dai Li off their feet and breaking the crystal prison that kept Iroh.

Zuko smiled in spite of himself. For a little girl, the earthbender really was formidable. He had sensed it when he first met her, and since the cave was all her element, there was no stopping her as long as her feet touched the ground. In seconds, Katara was free and had called back the water she had lost.

Fire exploded in fury as his uncle breathed a large stream of fire around him, setting Dai Li agents on fire and forcing Azula to pull up a wall of blue flame to protect herself. Not sparing a second, his uncle shot forth a bolt of lightning at a large clump of crystal right above her. She attempted to shield herself, but the crystals shattered instead, lodging into her skin and making her scream. She glared at her uncle, her eyes crazed and murderous. She held up her hand, which crackled with lighting. "I'll tell Father about your treachery, _Uncle_; how our great general betrayed his _own nation_!" Lightning suddenly barreled down on Zuko, and he barely registered the horror on his uncle's face when he realized the bolt was coming for him. In his shock, he only just remembered to lift up an arm to catch the bolt to divert it. Pure pain coursed through his arm as he struggled to control it and guide it through his body, down through his stomach and out his other arm, which was pointed toward Azula.

He didn't know if he got her, or even what direction he was really pointing. He heard a girl scream, and saw concerned faces swim around him before he finally lost consciousness.

-k-

"No!" Katara screamed as the lightning struck Zuko instead of heading toward his uncle. _"Nooo!"_ She ran towards him and was shocked to see lightning course through him in a controlled fashion. He circled his left arm in a waterbending move, directing the lightning out of his fingertips to strike in the direction of Azula. Azula, however, had already escaped, not bothering to stay to see the aftermath of her bolt of lightning. Instead, the rock wall above the tunnel exploded from the force of the bolt and collapsed.

"No, Zuko!" Iroh cried, catching his nephew as he fell. Katara immediately rummaged for the vial of Spirit Oasis water, and uncapped it. There was barely enough water to cover her fingertips, but it had to be enough. She ran over and pushed the folds of his clothing aside to reveal where his heart was and placed her fingers on his chest. His heartbeat had stopped, and there were only precious few seconds... Immediately, the Spirit water absorbed into his body, but nothing seemed to change. Frantic, her mind searched for more water in the vicinity and discovered an underground stream somewhere. A ribbon of water came crashing through the air and wound around her hands, covering them like a glove. Iroh shifted more of Zuko's clothing aside to let her place both of her hands on his chest, which was swollen red. Steam rose from where she placed her hands, and she concentrated hard on cooling his body down. Suddenly, his heart started again with a fury and Katara tried to calm it down, regulating it and cooling down his body more so she could have time to work on repairing the damage done to his internal organs. She called forth more water from the stream and moved her hands to his head, feeling for any damage the lightning might have done to his head.

"He almost did it," she heard his uncle say in a strangled voice. "It was still too close to his heart. But he handled it well."

Katara wanted to ask, but couldn't lose her concentration as she moved to the organs where he had detoured the bolt. Instead, Toph spoke up. "What did he do? How'd it do it? I felt it go through him and mess him up, but I also felt him redirecting it. How did he do it?"

"I taught him how to do it. It is a waterbending move; I don't know if you recognized it, Katara." She nodded. Iroh turned towards Toph. "Waterbending is about redirecting energy. Using an opposing force as your own. I came up with this adaptation myself and taught the theory to Zuko."

"I'm very impressed," Katara managed to say in a strained voice. Zuko would have been able to do it if he had been able to catch the full brunt of the bolt when it first struck. It was too quick and too unexpected, however, and some of it had coursed through his body before he could control it. She could see the trail of damage that lined the path of where he was directing the lightning. He couldn't control it fully, but what he did was impressive already. The damage should have been irreversible and instantly fatal.

When Katara finished patching up his liver, she checked him over one more time before retracting all the healing water that she had soaked him in. "I patched him up as well I could for now. I think we should find him a better place to rest...and for us as well." She stood up, but a wave of dizziness overtook her and Iroh put a steady hand against her back. "Careful now, you have expended a lot of energy."

Toph sighed forcefully, and fell into a horse stance, feet spread securely apart. She easily parted the rock slide that Zuko had brought down with the lightning. Then she balled her hands into fists and pulled on the invisible strings of the earth. A platform rose beneath them like a sled. Katara and Iroh quickly sat down and held onto Zuko as Toph pushed her hands in the direction away from the tunnel. The 'sled' jolted and moved along the floor, through what felt like an interminable ride through the tunnel, and out into the night air. "Final stop: Ba Sing Se Palace entrance!" Toph announced, stopping it and pushing the earth sled back into the ground.

Katara felt incredibly tired as she stood up. It seemed they had arrived outside the entrance to the Palace, away from the eyes of the guards. Iroh held Zuko in his arms, and nodded toward Toph and Katara. The had agreed that the safest refuge was probably their Upper Tier residence. Katara trudged through the night, half-asleep, dreaming of the soft bed that awaited her.

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**Thank you everyone who have reviewed my story and encourage me to continue! I'm still brainstorming up ideas at the moment and writing out some possible routes for the story to take. =) If any of you have ANY ideas, suggestions, or words of encouragement, PLEASE punch the 'review' button and let me know! =D


	2. Chapter 2: A Conscious Choice

_The first chapter can stand alone on its own, but due to all the great encouragement from my reviewers and my personal curiosity about how this story can develop, here is chapter 2! Sorry for the long wait, but I think I rewrote this three times before I was fairly satisfied with it. This is not really an action chapter so much as more of a deeper look into their thoughts. In fact, it's kind of what I like to write, so let me know if you think it's too slow or bogged down, OR you think it's great and awesome and you want more! =D_

**_**By the way, I know Omashu was the one renamed into New Ozai, but here it's... not._**

_And, as usual for me, I am a perfectionist and I don't stop editing after I've published a chapter. Sooo, come back in a few days and things might be a bit different! If I put in large enough edits, I will tell you up here.  
_

_This is all fueled by reviews, mind you, so help me out! =)_

_Oh right disclaimer: If I owned even a modicum of AtLA, the last couple minutes of the ending would be truncated and the animation stills gleefully stomped upon the editing floor.  
_

_

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**The Catacombs of Destiny**

Ch 2: A Conscious Choice

The weather was warm, the sky was blue, and the clouds were perfectly fluffy. In the midst of these fluffy clouds flew a large, white bison. On top of this bison sat a bald, little boy with downcast eyes.

"Well, that was a total waste of time, wasn't it, Appa, ol' boy?"

Appa grunted in reply.

Aang sighed. "Well, I guess it wasn't a total waste of time. I got my chakras open at least. So the next time I freak out and enter the Avatar state, I'll be kind of in control. But nooo, I can't actually go in or out of the Avatar state of my own free will until I learn _firebending_." The boy frowned and threw up his hands. "I created a little flame when Jeong Jeong taught me! Doesn't that count?" Appa grunted, again. "Yeah, yeah, I guess that doesn't count as really _learning_ it. Well, where am I gonna find someone to teach me? You think we'll be able to find Jeong Jeong again?" He looked down at the endless expanse of forest below. "Ugh."

Appa suddenly gave a small roar. Aang sat up and saw an endless stretch of wall—the outer wall of the great city of Ba Sing Se. "We're here! Um wait...what're those?"

Banners of red unfurled along the walls as he drew near, and Aang felt his blood turn cold once he recognized the symbol of the Fire Nation emblazoned on the banners. "Oh no..." he drew a swift intake of breath. "KATARA!"

It probably wasn't the smartest idea, but Aang forged ahead toward the Upper Tier house they had occupied for the past many days. Flying above the city, his heart thundered as he saw tanks rolling through the streets and rows of Fire Nation soldiers marching behind. People in Earth Kingdom greens and brown stood forlornly to the sides, crying. Some citizens tried to rebel by throwing rocks or by earthbending the soldiers, but were quickly beaten down. Those who had earthbended were swiftly rounded up. Aang gritted his teeth, and forced himself to loosen his grip on his glider before he snapped it out of anger. He finally looked away, choking back tears.

"How could this happen! _What_ happened? WHAT HAPPENED? Everything was going _so perfectly!_"

-k-

Katara awoke and found herself in a dim cave lit by glowing crystals.

_Wait, cave and crystals?_

She rubbed her eyes and sat up, looking around her. Her stomach growled loudly and seemed to crumple in on itself, but she ignored it. The cave was larger than the last one she and Zuko were in, and here she could see ruins of a past civilization. Clumps of crystal grew from broken columns and shattered floor tiles. It was eerily quiet save the dripping of water in a pool somewhere... and the sound of ragged breathing. She looked down and realized Zuko was sleeping right next to her. How she could look all around her and not notice him until now, she didn't know. Beads of sweat covered his forehead and the expression on his face wasn't calm. Katara took the hem of her skirt to wipe the sweat off his brow. As she did so, she noticed that his new and improved scar area could now move like the rest of his face. On impulse, she touched the softer skin, impressed at what she was able to do with the spirit water. Then Katara moved her hands down to his chest, and even without a glove of water, she could tell there was still an enormous amount of trapped heat in the area, blocking his chi and slowing down the healing process. She popped open her waterskin and realized she had no more water. Sighing, she got up, listening for the sound of the dripping water she heard earlier. As she walked, she tried to think back to last night's events and how she ended up in this new crystal cavern.

They had almost reached the Upper Tier house when Toph stopped everyone and warned that their house was surrounded by Dai Li agents. The only reaction Katara remembered having was feeling completely offended that the Dai Li would take away her chance at a bed and passing out. Toph had talked to Iroh, and the next thing she remembered was that they had gone somewhere else where Toph earthbended the ground underneath them to take them to...here—a different part of the crystal catacombs.

_Where's Toph and Iroh now? How could they leave two sleeping people unguarded?_?

When Katara reached the pool of water, she nearly dropped the waterskin she was holding when she saw the beauty of the little underground pond. The water was incredibly clear, incredibly pure, and the crystals underneath gave the pool a shimmery glow that lit up the rock walls around it. It felt peaceful here, and quiet, except for the sound of water dripping from the cave rocks. She sat on a smooth, damp rock and breathed in the sweet, musty smell. Her leg dangled off right above the water.

_So much has changed in so little time..._ Here she is, gathering water to heal Zuko, someone she had despised for the past few weeks. And now, she felt something akin to how she felt about _Jet_ when she first saw him. She felt her cheeks grow warm in embarrassment at the comparison. Well... the two boys were about the same age...same build... then she slapped herself lightly. She liked Jet because he was a freedom fighter and she thought that was just brave and dashing. So what was it about Zuko that she suddenly liked so much...? Katara let the thought hang as she called up a ribbon of water from the pool and twirled it around the cavern absent-mindedly.

It seemed silly, but the first thing that sprang to her mind was his green teaserver outfit. It was what it _represented_, she mused, just how much humble pie the haughty prince has had to eat. And the sunny smile she saw on his face when she first accidentally barged in on their teashop...it was so odd that he was the same person as the angry jerk that hunted them for the past few months.

She opened her waterskin and twirled the ribbon of water into it. _It's just a stupid crush_, she thought with finality as she snapped the lid closed. She needed to just concentrate on healing him and convincing him to join them. Jet was a dumb crush as well, and he chewed on that and spat it back in her face. Well, until he came back, broken, brainwashed, and saying he'd changed. And then... that look of regret on his face when he lay on the ground..._dying_. She never had a chance to say how sorry she felt for her murderous retaliations in the face of his pleas just for her to listen to him. Katara wiped the wetness from her eyes and stood up. _No_, she decided, _I can't let myself give into so much blind hate anymore. Or I will always regret opportunities I refuse to see. Jet... I'm so sorry._

Suddenly, Katara heard indiscernible voices far off. She hurriedly bent the water into her waterskin, and ran back to where Zuko lay. As she neared the large cavern where they stayed, a ridiculously wonderful aroma of _food_ assaulted her senses and wiped all reason from her head. She didn't notice that her mouth hung open and drool was threatening to fall out, nor did she even bother to glance at the people carrying the bundles of meats and breads. In one swift motion, a Katara grabbed a hunk of meat and a loaf of bread, and proceeded to go to town on them.

"_Goodness, _Sugar Queen! Manners, lady!" Toph cried, as she laid her food on an small outcropping of rock. Katara stopped mid-bite and finally emerged out of her hunger-clouded mind to stare at a grinning Toph and Iroh, who had armfuls of food himself.

"Um, hey, sorry about that..." Katara said, after swallowing a lump of bread in her mouth. "Where'd you get all this food?"

"Got 'em fresh from the palace kitchens! Luckily for us, everyone had run away or something, and no one was there! All for us!" Toph said brightly. "And before you ask, we were scouting around the caverns down here when I realized a part of this place led under the palace. Most importantly, under the palace kitchens!"

"Such priceless tea, too!" Iroh added, holding out three beautifully decorated tins. "A shame my niece does not appreciate such things."

Katara smiled, happy that they now have food but feeling awfully guilty about the rampant theft that was allowed to happen. "How long have I been out?"

Toph shrugged. "Like half the day. How's Sparky?"

"Sparky?" Katara echoed blankly.

"Lightning boy over there!"

"Why? Because he was _struck_ by lightning?" Katara asked, giving her a look of disapproval.

"I dunno, I go with my gut. And my gut's never wrong! So that's his name!"

Iroh grinned. "Oh, maybe he'll be able to generate lightning now that Toph has given him such an auspicious nickname!"

Toph cocked her head. "He can't make lightning like Azula?"

"No, it's a very specialized form of firebending. It requires great concentration to separate the yin and yang energies around us, which creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance, and the moment they crash back together, lightning forms. Without a cool and collected head, the bender merely directs the charge, guiding it. Zuko has too much turmoil in his mind and overthinks everything. This is why he cannot generate lightning, and harms himself in the process."

"Oh..." Toph said, putting a hand on her mouth. "Well, I kinda came up with the name when I felt him redirect the lightning...soo, yeah. Anyway, Sugar Queen, when _did_ you get up?"

"I only _just_ got up. I went to go find a spring so I could get some water for Zuko." Katara looked over at the motionless figure on the ground. Iroh kneeled before his nephew and brushed the boy's hair back, wiping off more sweat that covered his forehead with a handkerchief. Then he spread his nephew's shirt and saw that a dark, reddish purple bruise had formed in the area under the boy's heart. Katara frowned and put aside her bread and the remains of the meat. She bent a bit of water out of her skin to clean her hands before kneeling on the other side of Zuko.

"You should finish your meal first," Iroh said, but Katara shook her head.

She enveloped her hands with the pristine water from the cave pool and laid her hands on Zuko's chest, over the large bruise. A bit of steam rose from the remaining elevated heat of the area, but much less than before. "His body is doing a great job recovering. What's left are more minor internal injuries, and I should be able to help his body finish healing them quickly."

"Thank you, Katara. Your kindness toward my nephew is admirable, especially after all the trouble he has given you in the past."

Katara smiled, shaking her head. Thankfully, the healing she needed to do now was pretty easy, so she could talk with Iroh while she worked. "I got him to tell me some of his past. I guess I can understand why he was so bent on capturing Aang...though I really don't understand why he would want to go back to his father; that man sounds like a monster."

Iroh sighed. "My brother has never been a very kind man. However, when Zuko was much younger, he was not the monster you see today. He had some good in him—my brother, but he forsook it all when he saw an opportunity to become Fire Lord. I think Zuko could never let go of the fact that his father had completely lost his humanity, always wishing he could love him back." Iroh shook his head and brushed back Zuko's hair again.

"Was Sparky's sister always so insane, too?" Toph asked, sitting down next to Iroh.

"All of us have good and evil within us. And I do remember Azula being fairly happy as a very little child. Zuko rather liked her as a baby, if I remember. But, my niece showed her penchant for evil deeds as soon as she learned she was a firebending prodigy. It did not help that my brother, Ozai, and my father, Azulon, encouraged her destructive tendencies. Azula soon became jealous of the fact that Zuko would be next in line for the throne, so whatever love she ever had for him disappeared, replaced by terrible bitterness and anger."

Toph cocked her head. "So then how'd you end up so awesome, gramps? The rest of your family's crazy!"

Iroh chuckled, shaking his head. "I was not all that different from my family actually. We traditionally have a very strong respect for honor and integrity in the Fire Nation. We were raised to be honorable...though the definition of that has rather shifted quite a bit these days. I had a great tutor who taught me the old values of the Fire Nation, so while I did my duties as the crown prince and as the general, the ideas were still instilled in me. I'm afraid by the time Ozai got his own tutor, it was a different scholar. However, I still have taken lives, torn families asunder, and pillaged cities in the name of my country. I was never happy about it, but I never questioned it. But it was...not until my son died at my siege against Ba Sing Se that my eyes were finally opened...that I finally realized just what it meant to lose the greatest joy in one's life. And that I had done this to so many people already."

Katara couldn't stop a swift intake of breath, and noticed that Toph looked just as horrified. Somehow it just never occurred to her that Iroh had a son... and Toph probably never thought about it either.

"Oh, Iroh, I'm so sorry..." Toph said. Iroh put a hand on her shoulder and smiled sadly. "Sometimes one must experience the greatest sorrow in order to come out stronger and wiser. I am lucky, however, to have my nephew. He always looked up to Lu Ten, you know." Katara looked down at Zuko, who already looked much more peaceful since she started her healing session.

"So, did Zuko hang out at your place a lot as a kid? I mean, his own family sounds so jacked," Toph said, wrapping her arms around her knees.

Iroh shook his head. "I never had a chance to really get to know him since I was away at war all the time. Lu Ten played with Zuko a lot when they were younger before he went off for officer training school. And Zuko had his mother, who was a wonderful lady. It wasn't until after she disappeared that his life took a turn for the worse." Toph was opening her mouth to ask another question when Iroh suddenly clapped his hands and grinned widely. In one swift motion, he whipped out a jade teapot and some matching cups from his robes. "Well, girls, that's enough painful family history for the day! I think it's time I made some wonderful tea for both of you! Katara, my dear, where is this underground lake you found?"

-z-

Zuko sat under a tree, on a grassy knoll dotted with fire lilies. Just below him lay a beautiful pond surrounded by cattails and reeds. A gentle breeze ruffled his hair, and he breathed in the sweet smell of grass and the flowers that stretched as far as he could see. The sky was a perfect blue, dotted with feathery white clouds. A blue dragon soared across the sky, and Zuko didn't find it strange at all. He didn't think he had ever felt so calm in his life. He looked at the placid surface of the pond, reflecting the sky above it. It was beautiful, but it seemed...almost too empty. Turtleducks would have made the scene perfect. Another light gust of wind shook the leaves of the tree he laid against, and Zuko listened to the lyrical rustling...and a sweet, feminine voice.

"Zuko, my love... I am so, so proud of you..."

He whipped his head around, searching for the familiar voice that seemed to brush past him like the wind. "Mom?" He stood up quickly, looking behind the tree, scanning the endless sea of grass and fire lilies, even over the waters of the pond.

"I'm right here, love. I'm always here."

Zuko clambered down the hill toward the pond. "Mom? Where are you? Mom?" He spread apart the thick growth of cattails that grew along the shore, searching. "Where? I can't find you...where are you...?" He ran back up the hill and scanned the seas of fire lilies again. A stronger breeze blew by him, but carried no human voice along with it. He felt his heart sink and tears stung his eyes. The old feeling of abandonment and hurt he had tried hard to suppress welled up in his throat. "Why, mother...why did you leave me...again?"

The sky turned dark, and a cruel wind hinted that a storm was coming. Lightning abruptly struck the grass around him, and Zuko frantically scrambled out of the way as the grass and the lilies caught fire. Soon after, another bolt hit the cattails, another hit the tree, and suddenly he was surrounded by angry, searing blue flames.

"Do not be afraid, Zuko... Trust in path you are now on."

The last, small patch of grass he stood on threatened to be consumed by the raging fire. Try as he might, he could not bend back the fire. Finally, he dove into the water, and everything turned white...

...

Zuko suddenly found himself flying out of a fluffy white cloud. He looked down and saw he was riding a majestic red and gold dragon. Below the dragon, was a sea of blue fire.

"The dragons await the arrival of the true steward of the Sun."

"Who are you talking about?" Zuko said as he hung on to the dragon's golden horns to steady himself. "There aren't anymore dragons. My uncle killed the last one."

"Those born of the Sun will never die as long as he continues to shine upon the land. Your path is open, your destiny awaits. And we have waited long. Do not disappoint us."

Suddenly, the dragon started disintegrating, fading into the wind. "Wait!" The horns he had grabbed onto broke apart underneath his hands, and soon he found himself falling. He should be screaming, he should be afraid, but he felt no fear, and he didn't know why. He was more exasperated by the dragon's pointlessly cryptic choice of words. Like Uncle, really.

He watched as the clouds grew smaller. He didn't look down, he didn't need to look down. He knew all that raged below was a terrible blue fire, but he wasn't afraid. And finally he knew why when a tan hand grabbed his own and the waterbender's voice called his name, not in anger, but in relief. "_Zuko!_"

"Zuko, are you awake?"

"...Zuko?" _Uncle? Where'd he come from...?_

He slowly opened his eyes, and made out the shapes of three people. One being the broad, bearded face of his uncle, another being the tan face of the waterbender, and a third being the little earthbender girl with cottony, green eyes whose blank stare was the most unnerving. Zuko blinked, and everything became clear. He tried to sit up but his body felt like jelly. His uncle put a hand behind the prince's back to help him up, and Zuko leaned against his uncle. Zuko's head felt like someone was using it for punching practice, and his chest felt like a furnace.

"Nephew! You're finally awake! Try this tea, it's a restorative tea, straight from the royal kitchens of the Palace!" Uncle Iroh held a rather crudely hewn teacup to his lips and Zuko obediently took a sip. The taste was oddly sweet and bitter at the same time, and Zuko made a slight face. However, he could feel it quell the flames in his chest already.

"How long—" Zuko started, but another wave of pain coursed through his head. He took another sip of the tea.

"You've been out for a couple days," he heard the waterbender say. "We're in another part of the crystal catacombs underneath the city. Azula apparently had staged a coup before she found us, and has resumed taking over the entire city..."

_What the hell..._ "How long are we staying here?"

"Well, Sparky," the earthbender girl—_Toph, was it?—wait, who the hell is she calling _Sparky? "While you've been in lala land, I've been exploring this underground city to see if I can find a way outside the city. So we're staying here until we can find a safe way out without meeting your crazy sister and her little robot minions."

"Robot minions?"

Toph rolled her eyes. _"_The Dai Li. Honestly, do I have to explain the obvious to _everyone?"_

"So just what happened to the Dai Li after Azula escaped?" Katara asked. "Come to think of it, I totally forgot about them in my rush to save Zuko. And I don't even remember seeing any of them there. Did they run away as well?"

"Yes, when they saw that Azula ran, they followed immediately," Iroh said. He shook his head. "Such soulless beings. They only serve power, and not their own conscience. Not even their own people."

"I did wonder why such powerful earthbenders would want to overthrow their own people and serve the Fire Nation..." Toph said. "They make me so angry! I mean, Long Feng was one sleazy creep, but at least he was Earth Kingdom!"

"There are people who prize serving power above all else," Iroh said. "Those who make up the Dai Li are exactly that and more, I believe. I do think they have lost their souls and any sense of honor they ever had. They are tools, if you will. When Zuko and I entered Lake Laogai to rescue the Avatar's bison, we saw the brainwashing the Dai Li were doing. I would not be surprised if they themselves were once subjected to an even worse treatment. Whatever the case, they have now chosen Azula as their master. And that, makes Azula the ruler of this city."

"Azula..." Zuko growled, and his head throbbed. Her name was such a curse! "What is she, Queen of Ba Sing Se, now?"

Toph wagged her finger. "Oh, oh, noooo, it's _New Ozai_, that's the new name of Ba Sing Se now, named after the great Faaai-ah Lord!"

_New Ozai... and if it's under his sister's command, people will definitely suffer. Like father, like daughter... not like him at all. _Zuko squeezed his eyes shut and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. For what felt like the first time, the sound of his father's name made his blood boil. Gone were the hopeless yearning he used to feel instead. "New_ Ozai_." He spat. "Great. Great name, 'zula. Suck it up, daddy's girl! Agni above, I hate them both so freakin' much. How am I related to such...such...UGH!"

He felt his uncle pat him on the shoulder. "Oh, I've wondered the same thing quite often, my nephew. It's really quite a waste of energy to dwell on the things _you cannot change_, however. The most important question you need to ask yourself right now is: what will_ you_ choose to do from now on?"

Zuko's eyes were still shut tight, but he could suddenly feel everyone's eyes boring into him. Honestly, he never really had a plan anymore after they settled in Ba Sing Se and he started liking his nondescript life. Chasing the Avatar to bring him back as a present for his father finally seemed kind of pointless. Oh, it only took him three years to finally see that his father had him on a wild goose chase to get his stupid son out of his hair._ Even if I ever brought back the Avatar, I wonder if he would have just taken him without a word and tossed me back out to the sea? _Zuko let out a deep sigh and opened his eyes. He looked at his uncle sadly. "Uncle, Father...always did hate me, didn't he?"

His uncle pulled Zuko's shoulder in for a hug. "There was a time...when he didn't hate you, Zuko. But that father you remember...he has died a long time ago. The man who coveted and gained the throne is not the same man. The man who scarred you and banished you... was no father of yours."

Suddenly tears welled up in his eyes_. It was so obvious. I was chasing a shadow, and Father was probably laughing at my gullibility and stupidity. It hurts...it hurts to know how blind I have been._ Zuko suddenly became hyper aware that there were two girls who were listening in on his sob story. He made sure his tears were still in his eyes before he hazarded a glance at either of them. Toph looked unmoved for the most part. Katara looked like she was debating whether to leave and give them privacy or come and give him a hug as well. He honestly wasn't sure which he preferred, but that wasn't important right now. _Don't let the tears fall..._

He felt another hand on his back. It was Katara. Her blue eyes held no pity, but a sort of confidence and support. He smiled in spite of himself.

"I know what to do now, Uncle. I have to take Ozai down—"

"No!" his uncle said fiercely. "It is the Avatar's duty to take him down—"

"Why?" Zuko asked, surprised yet relieved. Taking down one's own father never seemed like a good thing.

"If you do, it would just look like a son taking down a father to become Fire Lord. There is no honor in that, and no amount of moral explaining will convince anyone. The Avatar is a symbol of the keeper of the world's balance. The hand of a higher judge, if you will. Ozai's defeat in his hands would be seen as the rightful path of the fate of the world."

"Then I'll help him...if he lets me."

Katara immediately clasped his hands in hers, making him look up at her in surprise. "Yes! Of course he would!" she cried. She honestly looked like she was about to cry herself, which puzzled him.

"You're a different person now, Zuko. They'll welcome you in a heartbeat, trust me. My brother Sokka might give you a hard time, but he always does that anyway. Aang will most likely be the first person to forgive you; he was the one who saved you at the North Pole, you know, even after you had kidnapped him."

Zuko's eyes widened. So that's how he found himself back in the middle of the Northern Water Tribe city... he had thought himself as good as dead after braving the raging blizzard and getting lost. "I see..."

"Quit frettin', Sparky, if they don't like you, I'll just earthbend some sense into them!"

Zuko chuckled. "Thanks...Toph. I'm touched."

-a-

Aang walked silently through the Palace halls of _New Ozai_, the new name he overheard the newly arrived Fire Nation soldiers refer to the city as. He lowered himself to the ground to creep around another corner and saw two more Fire Nation soldiers marching towards him. He quickly and soundlessly jumped to the beams that crisscrossed the ceiling and maneuvered himself into the occupied hallway. Then he stopped to listen.

"...heard the Princess finally finished that good-for-nothing Prince off..." Aang widened his eyes. _Zuko? Killed by Azula? Now what's happened?_

"Ya know, I always felt sorry for that kid... but I mean, yeah, I was just surprised that he was here in the city living a peasant life. How sad is that?" A distant gong sounded, signaling the time.

"Hey man, we're late, we were supposed to go relieve Tan and Wu five minutes ago! Dammit, I knew I shouldn't have listened to you and taken that detour to the kitchens!"

"Er, we going to the high security prisons or the other one...?" The other man shrugged as he hurried away.

Aang dropped lightly on the ground, and immediately followed the two soldiers.

So far, Sokka's plan was going well... when he finds Katara and the Earth King, he would sound the bison whistle, and Sokka and Appa will come and take them away...

* * *

_Hm, I just realized I called Ba Sing Se 'New Ozai' when that name was for Omashu. Well, I'm gonna keep it, since I would think Ozai would be much more impressed if his name was on the largest Earth Kingdom city!_

**_I kind of changed up the rather hazy rules the series had about Avatar state-ness. To me it makes more sense that Aang can't control the Avatar state fully if he hadn't mastered all four elements. The bit about just having to let go of wants seemed way too easy. If that were the case, then if Katara was never in the picture, he'd be able to go glowy and save the world without needing firebending at all._**

_I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what you think! Remember, your reviews are the fuel to keep me going!  
_

_**Shameless plug: I've sculpted an Appa 2.0! and a Momo figurine! VISIT: **cyathula** dot **etsy** dot **com**  
_


	3. Chapter 3: Out of the Catacombs

_Heeeeere is Chapter 3! Thank you everyone who have sent me reviews, you have NO IDEA how you can make a person's day with them! And thank you those who put me on their favs/alert lists, though I'd love it even more if you'd drop even a small little review to make me smile. Sorry if I didn't reply back to your reviews on my previous chapters, I've been swamped with orders to my new shop (cyathula dot etsy dot com), where I sculpt Appa charms, Totoros, and many others! Okay, okay, shameless plug, but it really is very true._

_I stayed up all night writing this chapter, because it started out as a simple idea, but somehow grew legs and just wrote itself out, not letting me sleep! I will definitely be coming back and revising or expanding stuff in this chapter later when I'm more awake. If you guys catch any mistakes, have any suggestions, or just want to say hi, PLEASE, by all means, I'll be the happiest person in the world!_

_**9/1/10: I'm a clinically insane proofreader, so I've already added little bits and pieces to make the chapters flow better, and plugged more thoughts and words into our favorite characters.**_

_**9/9/10: I'd totally forgotten Momo! Haha, well he makes a brief appearance now, though he is still a very minor character and won't show up too much especially in Zuko's view. Special thanks for Blackcat90 for letting me know. =)**_

_***Added more needed dialogue between Toph and Iroh!**_

_**Pointless disclaimer: I don't own AtLA, if I did, I would feed more than the last two minutes of the series to a nice shredder I just invested in.**_

* * *

**The Catacombs of Destiny**

Ch 3: Out of the Catacombs

-z-

"I'm getting this oddly familiar fear that we're going to be stuck in a weird underground cave forever," Zuko said, leaning against a glowing crystal rock as he watched Katara weave ribbons of water in the air, making rather pretty patterns that reflected the lights of the crystals. A flick of water smacked him in the face, making him jump. "What was that for?"

"Are you still going on about how they wouldn't let you go spelunking with them?" Katara said, rolling her eyes.

He frowned. "You gotta admit it doesn't make any sense that an old man is good enough to go traversing the caves while I _can't._"

Katara rolled her eyes again. "I guess someone forgot he was struck by lightning and needs to recuperate."

"I feel fine!"

The girl raised an eyebrow at him, and he glared back. Somehow he felt strangely guilty, like he'd been found out. His chest _was_ still hurting like hell, but he had high confidence in his poker face. Zuko knew he was being dumb about not letting her give him another healing session since he gained consciousness, but his pride just wasn't going to let the waterbender that near him. She was pretty cute, he admitted, but the thought of a girl placing her hands on his chest while he was fully conscious made him blush. He was also sick of being weak, and lying around doing nothing was making him restless. He kept his gaze steady on the waterbender, and shot a burst of flame at a stationary ribbon of water in the air (which Katara forgot about since she was still staring at him), turning it instantly to steam.

"Hey!"

The rest of the ribbons of water shot towards him, but he anticipated that. He brought up his arms, which brought up a relatively weak wall of fire that was still able to turn some of the water to steam.

A searing rush of pain flooded his abdomen after he raised his arms, and he doubled over, moaning.

"Okay, tough man, in the water you go," said an exasperated voice. He wasn't sure what she meant until he felt her shove him off the rock and he plunked into the _very_ cold pool of cave water. "Aaahhhh! What the hell, this is freakin' COLD!" he yelled, as he splashed around trying to keep himself afloat. The pool was deceptively much deeper than it looked. He made for the edge of the pool, but realized Katara was in the water as well, in front of said edge. Zuko was trying to comprehend how she was standing in a bottomless pool when he felt a current beneath him, gently pushing his body up and buoying him so he could float on the surface, supine. He looked over at Katara, who looked very amused. He was about to comment, when she floated over and pushed his chest just under the water.

"I've been wanting to bring you here. With a large pool of water this pure, I think you _will_ be perfectly fine after this healing session."

A bright glow emanated from her hands over his stomach, and any complaint he had dissipated in a rush of pure relief.

-t-

"Any place bigger than my parents' estate is TOO BIG!" Toph cried, throwing up her hands. "I feel like these catacombs _only_ cover the area under the Palace..."

"We might could use this to our advantage," Iroh spoke in his slow and steady way. The palace grounds are so grand that we may never find the end. It might be best to find an opportunity to break into the Palace. Miss Toph, can you feel out individual people above us and who they might be?"

Toph stopped. She concentrated hard on the myriad vibrations in the ground, picking out thousands of minuscule vibrations and quickly dismissing all of them—but one. "Hey, it's Bosco the weird bear...bear! He's just pacing around in a small circle. The Earth King must be there, too. I can tell some other people are moving around in small spaces, next to one another... it's a prison all right." She concentrated harder on the fuzzier vibrations. "I think I see Azula, too, kinda far away. She must be sitting down or something, I can't see her too well. But there's a bunch of Dai Li agents stumping around, so I'm betting it's her."

"So Azula is still here... I wonder why..."

Toph cocked her head. "Why wouldn't she be? Doesn't she want to rule the city?"

The old man shook his head. "I do not believe my niece cares to rule a city. The city is overtaken, the fun is over. If she would be idle, she would be in the Fire Nation, close to Ozai."

"It's only been a few days..." Toph said, resuming her walk down the new tunnel they were exploring that day. "You know, I bet she's trying to find us. Can't be too hard to send down some of those loser Dai Li back down the other cavern to check out our remains and find that there aren't any."

"Yes, of course..." Iroh sounded somewhat distracted.

"Shouldn't we go rescue the Earth King and his stupid bear-bear?"

Toph felt the old man start to shake his head, but stopped. _Probably 'cause he thinks I can't see it. _"No, if we do, it will give away our position that we are nearby. If the Dai Li discover this particular cavern, we would be trapped. Not to mention, much of this ancient city would most likely be destroyed. I think this particular cavern has only survived so well intact because no one has discovered it."

They walked further down the cavern, and Toph idly felt out the abandoned living spaces around them. It seemed like they were in an ancient residential neighborhood. Toph felt a slight shiver go down her spine at the eery emptiness of the place. The further they walked, the more distinct Bosco the bear's restless pacing became. She didn't even need to stop and concentrate to pick it out. Toph found it unsettling, and frowned at the tiny space the bear must be confined to.

Toph suddenly heard a slight chuckle. "Alright, gramps, what is it, you can't chuckle and not tell me!"

"Oh, I am just thinking of my nephew and your friend, Katara. She is a very nice young lady, isn't she?"

"Sugar Queen? Yeah, she can be way too much though. I can only take so much before my teeth start hurting, ya know?"

"Really? I guess I have not noticed. I am still amazed that she could heal Zuko's scar. It is an old scar, and from what I know of healers from the water tribes, they can only heal fresh wounds. She must be an amazing bender. With an amazing heart, too."

"Oh, don't give her so much credit. She's totally got a crush on him, I can hear her heart go nuts a mile away."

Iroh laughed. "You don't say, how could she develop a crush on someone who's been her enemy for so long? Oh... ...nah, surely not."

"What? Tell me!"

"There was a time he had tied her up to a tree. He had found Katara's necklace and was trying to get her to tell him where the Avatar was in exchange for it. That's really the closest interaction I can remember them ever having. Hardly a situation to sow the seeds of romance."

"Man, I totally missed out on so much before I joined the group! So much juicy stuff! I did remember everyone commenting on Sparky's new hair after that time in the ghost town. Sweetness wouldn't shut up about how much better he looked and how ugly he was before!"

"Ah yes, the warrior's tail. One of the royal hairdressers somehow convinced him it would require less care than any other style, I think, which is why he chose it before he left the Fire Nation."

"Hair is so stupid. It's just a huge bunch of blah on the head."

Iroh patted her on the shoulder. "You're right, matters of beauty should never be that important. They serve to distract people from what truly significant: the heart. "

"Right you are, gramps."

They walked in silence for the next few minutes, and Toph found she couldn't stop smiling. Iroh was just the kind of person she always wanted in life but never realized. The kind of wise warmth that was way above the rest who deserved her sarcastic daggers. She found herself wanting to skip and jump like the kids she always detested and was just about to do so when she felt a slight vibration in the levels above, barely noticeable but unique in its light hops.

"Twinkletoes!" Toph cried. "I can feel him! Those floaty steps, definitely him! He just landed somewhere behind us... He's headed to the prisons! Gramps, we got no choice now, we gotta go find him! I bet he thinks we're in prison!"

"Calm down, calm down. Just who... is this Twinkletoes?"

"Ah, right... it's Aang, um, the Avatar. He was off at some temple somewhere during this whole fiasco learning from some guru about some Avatar state stuff. And he's back!"

To her surprise, the Iroh frowned. "How fast can you travel back and get the other two?"

"Less than five minutes by my awesome rock skiing skills, why...? Oh..." Toph's face suddenly drained of color.

"I suspect—"

"Azula and the Dai Li are on the move, she knows!" Toph cried frantically. "How could she know? Twinkles' footsteps are so quiet! We have to go, now!"

"I was afraid of that..." Iroh muttered, running after her.

-k-

"How do you feel?"

"Absolutely perfect."

"Perfect? Wanna test that?" Katara said, about to toss the water she bended out of their clothing back into the pool. Seconds later, she had multiple whips at her disposal, ready for battle.

Zuko cracked his neck and dropped into a firebending stance, a wide smirk on his face. At the sight of his smirk, Katara frowned deeply, remembering a time when he'd tied her to a tree and threatened her with her mom's necklace. If she remembered correctly, he had the same smirk there, too. She still couldn't believe the shaggy-haired boy in front of her was the same as the jerk back then. And even harder now to imagine, since after his final declaration that he was going to actually join them, he seemed so much lighter and easy to talk to.

She quickly circled him and moved away from the pool, her water whips following her. "Let's move away from the pool, the area's too confined."

"Whatever you want," he replied, shrugging.

Once they were out in the larger atrium, Katara struck first, immediately lashing out a long whip that Zuko dodged easily. He swung out of his crouched position and unleashed a volley of fireballs at her. In a split second, she had frozen one of her whips into an icy arc as a platform to slide away from the fireballs which melted off sections of the arc behind her. At the apex of the arc she made, she instantly froze another water whip and sliced away sharp thin discs to throw at the firebender below. He threw up a shield of fire to melt all her discs, but another whip had snaked around to grab him by the legs and freeze him to the ground. He tried to melt the imprisoning structures as fast as he could with fire from his hands but was instantly doused in more water which froze his body and his arms as well.

Katara smiled devilishly as she hopped down from the icy playform and walked towards the prince, who was frozen in a somewhat awkward, crouching position. Sweet retribution! She never did forgive him for tying her up to a tree and prancing around her with her precious necklace from her mother. He gave her a derisive glare. "Smirk away, peasant, know that I wasn't at full strength and this is a cheap victory for you."

"Yeah, it was an awfully short battle, wasn't it, _Prince_ Zuko?"

"Don't call me that, I'm not a prince anymore," he said testily. "Now can you get me out of this ice block, it's freezing."

"Ooh, not 'til you apologize for tying me to a tree that one night many weeks ago! Remember? So humiliating, having all those pirates leering at me! The rope hurt _my_ hands and I didn't just ask you to untie me!"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Oh, please...first, you were my enemy, and second, you had it coming, standing out there on the river when a _waterbending_ scroll was stolen—"

_BOOM!_

"What was that?"

Bits of rock fell from the cavern ceiling, a small piece hitting Katara on the head. Both of them instantly looked down the corridor that Iroh and Toph had gone down.

Suddenly a rock tsunami seemed to barrel down from the corridor they were staring at and Katara was about to jet when she heard Zuko screaming at her to free him from the ice. Instantly, the ice splashed to the ground and he ran after Katara to the higher ground near the walls of the cave. As quickly as they saw the avalanche coming at them, it stopped, with Toph at the apex, her feet buried in the rock. "HURRY UP AND GET DOWN HERE! IROH AND AANG'S BATTLING AZULA!"

Next thing they knew, Katara and Zuko found themselves holding onto to Toph for dear life as she rock slid back to end of the corridor. With a quick thrust towards the ground, Toph elevated a piece of rock floor below them and tunneled the way through the ceiling. They popped out into a dungeon of some kind, and prisoners were calling loudly.

"Aang, how is he here?" Katara said, feeling completely overwhelmed by the noise as Toph quickly fixed the floor back to the way it was.

"I'll explain later, but Aang's our ticket out of here on Appa as long as we can keep Sparky's mad sister and her robot minions at bay. Come on, follow me, _hurry up!"_

A large explosion thundered out, and Zuko pointed towards the blown out wall of a hallway and the courtyard outside. Another fierce explosion rocked the area, and finally Katara understood what it was: Iroh and Azula were both fighting lightning with lightning, and the power was staggering. Aang, meanwhile, held off Dai Li agents with his own earth and airbending skills. "Katara!"

"Aang!" Katara yelled back happily, and her gaze slid to the right of him at a blue and red clad figure. His hair was untidy, and he fought with distinct hooked swords...

"JET! Oh, La! You're alive!" Katara cried. Dai Li agents had trapped Jet's swords in rock and was pressing him down. She immediately popped the cork of her water skin and razor sharp icicles honed in on the backs of Dai Li agents fighting him.

"Heya, Katara! Thanks, I owe you one there!" Jet cried, as he hooked over a Dai Li agent who was attacking Aang, and kicked the man hard in the head.

She ran towards Aang, and helped him fight off another wave of agents. "Are we taking back Ba Sing Se?"

Aang shook his head as he blasted a wave of air in front of him, pushing back some of the enemy. "Fire Nation soldiers will be coming soon, and we can't beat all of them. I just called Appa, we need to get out of here once he gets here!"

Katara nodded, and looked at Jet, who looked quite healthy since the last time she saw him, which was near death. "Jet, how d'you—"

"_No, Uncle!_"

Katara whipped her head around to see Iroh suddenly faltering and a small black dagger sticking out his back. Zuko, in that brief loss of concentration, was immediately attacked by a pink-clad girl who did a strange set of non-fatal looking jabs against him. In an instant, he collapsed in a boneless heap on the ground, motionless but still able to curse out the girl, who was apparently named Ty-Lee. Iroh still stood, however, and shot fire bursts at the girl who had taken out his nephew. The girl somersaulted aside easily, and tried to go after Iroh, who kept her at bay with fire punches. Azula smiled hungrily at her uncle and her brother as she circled her arm in a familiar way...

"WATCH OUT!" Katara found herself whipping anyone who got in her way as she broke into a frantic run towards Iroh and Zuko. Toph was running, too, next to her, and with one swift, sharp jab of her arm in the air, a giant slab of rock rose from the ground, throwing off whoever was on it, and forming a shield in front of Iroh and Zuko to catch the lightning that issued forth.

"Aah!" Toph suddenly cried and faltered, and Katara saw with horror that a dagger was now protruding out of her right leg. Katara whipped her head around to find the miserable dagger thrower and suddenly found herself face to face with the girl in pink.

"Hi!" the girl said cheerfully and looking like she just arrived at her birthday party. In a blink of an eye, she was suddenly gone. Katara instantly put up a shield of ice around herself and Toph, and could hear the cracking of ice where the girl must have been trying to jab at her. With a twitch of her finger, the ice shield immediately turned into tiny icicles and burst out, catching the girl by the surprise and embedding themselves in her body. "Ow! That's not nice at all!" she cried painfully, then promptly disappeared again, making Katara paranoid for the next few seconds.

"YOU'RE MINE, AVATAR!" Azula screeched, as she conjured devastating electricity. Katara saw Aang bring up a clump of earth to use as a shield similar to what Toph had done. He was swift enough, however, and avoided the bolt which blasted out a wall of the palace. Aang flung the large lump of earth at the princess, who broke it apart with a smaller bolt issued. Katara ripped her eyes from the fight to see a white speck in the sky. _Appa!_

_How were they all going to get on Appa in this ruckus? _She ran towards Iroh and Zuko, who was being supported by his uncle as he looked like he couldn't even stand on his own. Toph was already there, fighting off Dai Li agents who tried to apprehend them.

In the briefest, blink of light from the moon, Katara saw another dagger whizzing through the air towards Toph—_she can't see it flying in the air!—_and Katara jumped in front, catching the dagger in her arm.

"Touching." A girl dressed in red and black robes suddenly dropped in front of her. In her hand were three more daggers, which she instantly threw. Katara whipped out her water and froze them in midair in a large clump of ice. Then she quickly unfroze the water (letting the daggers drop to the ground), and hurtled it as new icicles toward the girl, who dodged them and took out another dagger. Every movement of her hurt arm made her eyes water in excruciating pain, and she was feeling lightheaded. She needed to take this girl down! Finally, she melted the icicles back to water and shot them at the girl's hands, gloving them and freezing them. The girl looked slightly dismayed at her frozen hands, and quickly ran off.

"What'd you do, Katara? Are you okay? What happened?" Toph cried, as Iroh and Zuko came over.

"She was struck by a flying dagger, and fought off a weapons master." Iroh said simply. "Katara, Toph, do you mind helping me with Zuko? I know you are both hurt, but he will not be able to regain any movement for at least a few more minutes."

"Uncle, what are you planning?" Zuko asked frantically, as Iroh slid his arm out from around his shoulders. Toph reluctantly took his place.

"You youngsters need to leave, I will distract everyone as you get on the bison."

"No, you have to come, you can't stay here! She'll kill you!" Zuko cried frantically.

"Oh she can't kill me, Nephew; you give me too little credit! Now, go and don't disappoint me!"

Toph, Zuko, and Katara watched in dismay as Iroh moved faster than they could blink, and stood in front of Aang, who looked as shocked as they were. He said something to Aang, who looked upset. Aang then called Jet, who called his two friends, who brought out Bosco the bear and the Earth King.

"OH LA!" Katara heard a familiar voice cry. She looked up and saw Sokka, who had palmed his forehead at the number of people gathered to board Appa. Momo the lemur sat on his shoulder, looking wide-eyed at the number of people as well (or, Katara realized, that's how he always looks...) "First come, first serve, people!"

"Sokka!" Katara's look of joy at the sight of her brother instantly turned into a deep scowl. "EVERYONE is getting on, no buts!"

"Think of poor Appa here! There were only supposed to be TWO more, not TEN more!" Sokka cried back weakly, as Aang called up a wind and swept the Earth King and Bosco into the saddle. Next came Katara, Toph, and Zuko.

"Wait, what the hell is he doing here?" Sokka yelled, pointing at Zuko. "He's our new _friend!"_ Katara and Toph cried, giving him a threatening look. Aang then called to Jet ("JET? CAN SOMEONE WAKE ME UP?" Sokka cried, slapping himself repeatedly on the cheek), Smellerbee, and Longshot, who all stopped fighting to catch the whirlwind onto the bison. Appa groaned heavily at the weight, but managed a happier growl when Aang twirled himself onto the bison's head. Momo quickly jumped off Sokka's shoulder and made himself at home on Aang's head.

"RUN LIKE THE COWARD YOU ARE, ZUZU!" Azula laughed maniacally, but every time she tried to get shots at the bison, Iroh countered her and forced her attention back on him.

"GO!" cried Iroh. As the courtyard disappeared from sight, Katara finally dared to look at Zuko, who was completely ashen. "We'll get him back, Zuko."

"Yes," he hissed through clenched teeth. "There's no doubt about that."

* * *

_YEEEEUP, Jet's alive, I honestly liked him quite a bit and thought it a bit raw to let him wheeze out. Not to mention, the series doomed the other two to die either of hunger or suicide as well, and that's SO WRONG! Not to mention, Katara should have been able to save ANYONE from the brink of death if she could save Zuko from a lightning bolt in the chest in that last battle. Er right, so... how did Jet survive? I guess we'll find out later! Next chapter will most likely focus on all the crazy relationships a large new family like the one on the back of Appa could possibly garner! Fun times! Got suggestions? Let me know!_

_**On a side note, Mai has no romantic connection with Zuko. My reasoning is that she's always been friends with Azula, and any friend of Azula is no friend of Zuko's. Now, I actually like Mai quite a bit as a character, so she's gonna stay as cool and bored as she's always been and I'm not going to assassinate her character as Zutara stories tend to do.**_

_I have two giant commissions to sculpt (Totoro girls and an Ohmu from Nausicaa, if you care), so progress might be slow. But..._

_**If ya wanna experience an amazing power where you can control a person (short of bloodbending, *shiver*), send me a REVIEW and rest assured, I will have opened up the writing program within 5 minutes and be writing the next chapter! =P Thank you!**_


	4. Chapter 4: The Facets of Tolerance

_Thank you everyone who've read and reviewed! Here is part 4, which was longer than I expected. =) _

_**9/1/10 *I've updated some things in my last chapters, notably: more dialogue between Toph and Iroh. Toph is more respectful to him as well. =) I can't remember what else. Please re-read and if you find any weird errors, let me know!**_

_**To clarify some confusion on Aang's relationship with Katara in this story... he has just a boyish crush on her but nothing serious. =)  
**_

* * *

**The Catacombs of Destiny**

Ch 4: The Facets of Tolerance

-z-

"Welcome aboard Appa Air, ladies and gents, your choice for quality getaway adventures! My name is Sokka, your number one host for today's evening flight from Ba Sing Se to Chameleon Bay! Your safety comes first on Appa Air, so your cooperation is appreciated as we screen for suspicious persons..." The water tribe boy immediately whipped his narrowed eyes at Zuko, who sighed audibly. "Let's start with _you_, sir..." The boy's cute theatrics ended there however, once he pointed his boomerang at him._ "_Okay, where the hell did you come from and why are you here?"

Katara looked ready to go off on him, so Zuko quickly put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, I should explain anyway." His gaze swept over the mistrustful eyes of the water-tribe boy, the hooked-swords boy and his crew; the downcast but noncommittal eyes of the Earth King, and the curious eyes of the Avatar, who had turned to face the group from his perch on the bison's head. The odd lemur creature on his head made a gurgling sound.

"In case you think I planned this, I honestly didn't expect to be here either. A lot of things have changed. My uncle and I have been on the run from the Fire Nation since the Northern Water Tribe invasion," Zuko started. "After days of wandering around, we ended up in Ba Sing Se to start a new life in a teashop. Then, I guess, my Uncle got too good at...making tea, and attracted attention. We didn't know it was the _wrong_ attention until we arrived at the Earth Palace and that Azula had somehow weaseled her way in and was posing as an advisor. I still don't know how she knew it was us though... Anyway, then I got captured, tossed in a cave, and met Katara."

"Hold up, you were so obsessed with trying to capture Aang, why'd the Fire Nation suddenly decide to mark you as a traitor? And why stop chasing Aang?" Sokka said, narrowing his eyes even more.

Zuko frowned thoughtfully. "To be honest, I don't think I ever actually stopped chasing the Avatar in my mind. I'd just lost the men and the means once I was branded a traitor. I mean, there was that time I found Azula ready to take off with the Avatar in that ghost town, and I fought her to get to him." He looked at the Avatar, who nodded slowly as if just remembering it himself. "But then Azula hurt Uncle really bad and I couldn't have cared less about the Avatar—"

"AANG! He's got a name, use it!" Katara cried, throwing her arms in the air.

"Um... Aang... Well, since then... that dream had faded little by little until I got the flyer about the Ava—Aang's missing bison while stumping around getting supplies at the tea shop. I'd gone to find the bison as a lure to get to the A—Aang, but Uncle had found me and made me let the bison go. It was the maddest thing I'd ever done, and I was so frustrated by—"

"YOU WERE THE ONE WHO LET APPA GO?" The Avatar had jumped up onto his feet and was pointing at him and was grinning like his birthday had come.

Zuko really wasn't sure what to make of it. "Uh, uhm... well Uncle was the one that really got me to do it..."

"That's great!"

"Oh come on, Aang, we were about to free Appa ourselves, Zuko just got to him first..." The water-tribe boy muttered.

The hooked-swords boy—named Jet, Zuko suddenly remembered from a memory of meeting him on the refugee ship...and afterwards of trying to oust him and Uncle as firebenders—was giving him a glare that could melt metal. "Quit the sob story, firebender. I noticed you haven't said you'd stopped chasing after Aang yet."

"I hadn't gotten to that part yet!" Zuko said and scowled. It was true, he had a problem with rambling when he was nervous. And here he had completely verbalized his thoughts. Embarrassing, kind of. "I'm just saying it took a while, but now I've realized chasing the Avatar was stupid and I'm not...I'm not doing it anymore."

Sokka rubbed his chin in exaggerated thought. "So why did the Fire Nation suddenly dump you? You seemed obsessively loyal. I mean, you _are_ their damn Prince!"

"Prince?" the hooked-swords boy named Jet suddenly cried in horror. "_Fire Nation PRINCE?"_

"I'm not their _'damn Prince'_ anymore, okay, so quit referring to me with that!" Zuko cried, exhaling some steam from his nostrils. "Look, it's a long, very personal story, and I'm not in any mood to indulge anymore than this: My father hates me, my sister hates me, and I'd been banished on a delusional chase for the Avatar so that I could return to my own damn country. Well, that's over and done now, and I've come to a mutual hatred for them both. I'm sorry I'd been chasing you guys, and now I just want to help you guys take my horrible family down, alright?"

Sokka was staring at him with a look of disbelief. "Well, um, I see. Aang? What do you say, you're the leader."

The Avatar's shoulders slumped slightly at the word 'leader', but he was smiling, Zuko noted with some relief. "Thanks for letting us know your story, Zuko. But it's not just my opinion that matters on whether you can join us. I think it is kinda hard for everyone to forget you'd been chasing after us non-stop for so long. I know you're a good person, Zuko—I still remember that you saved me form Admiral Zhao—but it's gonna take time for any of us to fully trust you. I do need a firebending teacher though, and if you would agree to teach me, I would definitely have no objections to you joining our group."

Zuko smiled in spite of himself. The kid could be oddly mature sometimes. "I was going to offer to teach you firebending, regardless. Thank you for your vote of confidence."

"Sokka? What do you think?" The Avatar asked.

The water-tribe boy—Sokka—looked rather defeated but not angry. "If you're fine with him, I will be, too. But I'm watching you, Zuko, no funny moves!"

"Katara? Toph?"

"No need to ask us, Twinkletoes, we all got to know each other pretty well down in the caves!" Toph said, sitting up and slinging an arm over a surprised Zuko's shoulders. He smiled at her gratefully but remembered she couldn't see. "Thanks, Toph."

"Anytime, Sparky!"

Zuko looked at Katara, who looked like she was doing everything to keep from breaking out into a huge grin. "Of course! Welcome to the group, Zuko!"

"Wait up, what about me?" Jet cried.

"What about you?" Katara bit back, looking annoyed.

"Don't I get a say in this?"

Sokka stroke his chin again in exaggeration. "Yep that's right, it's your turn. Are you an impostor or are you really Jet? And how the hell did you escape when everyone was crying over your dead body?"

Jet crossed his arms and snorted. "Yeah, I thought I was pretty much dead, too, but after Katara put her hands on my chest with that water, I did feel a little better after a while. But it was really 'cause of Smellerbee and Longshot here. When I realized they weren't gonna escape and was gonna die in the caves with me, I knew I couldn't die. So I made them drag me out. When we got out, we met a nice family who helped me out. After like a week, we went back to the city to help the refugees. After the Fire Nation attacked, we pulled up a new group of Freedom Fighters. Those Fire Nation hogs targeted us pretty quick since we were doing so much damage, and we got thrown in jail. The rest is history, as they say." He patted his other two companions on the shoulders. Then he shot a look of utter loathing at Zuko.

"_Now_, you guys are way too trusting," the boy went on, taking out a hooked-sword and pointing at Zuko. "He's Fire Nation! There's NOTHING good about any of them! Look what happened to the great city of Ba Sing Se! This guy, this _firebender_—" he shook his sword at Zuko, who now tapped his finger on his arm impatiently—"I'm only tolerating him being here because of Katara, who's apparently too nice for her own good to see he's got to be a _spy_!" Zuko rolled his eyes and glanced at Katara curiously, who looked ready to boil over.

"Hey, _Drama Queen!" _Toph said dangerously before Katara could bite back, "if I hear any more of your 'Fire Nation all suck' (said in a high sing-song way) bull-moose crap, I'll give you a piece of the earth every, single time. Iroh's the BEST human being in the world, he's the best _Firebender_ in the world, and he sacrificed himself to save all of our asses_, including yours! _Now, I somehow don't recall your even being voted into the group yet, so actually...your opinion doesn't count!"

"Look here, little gir—"

The bison suddenly grunted and jolted, which tossed everyone into the air and frantically grabbing for some part of the saddle, or in Toph's case, squeezing Zuko's arm so tight he was starting to lose feeling.

"Appa's tired, we have to land!" The Avatar cried from his spot on the bison's head.

"Then land him!" Toph yelled back.

After prying Toph's fingers off his arm, Zuko peered over the saddle and noticed that they were flying over the countryside. The Outer Wall still looked to be about an hour away. A half-moon shone among a clear, starry sky, and he glanced back the way they came, half expecting war balloons to blot out most of the sky. There were none, however, and he felt uneasy at the seeming lack of pursuit.

As bad as the idea of a break was in Zuko's mind, touching stable ground lightened his mood up considerably. He wasn't the only one either, he noticed, looking over at Toph, who was kissing the ground and trying to hug the flat surface. He walked a ways from the group and stretched gratefully, happy to have control of his limbs again after Ty Lee—_that acrobat freak_—turned his limbs into jelly with a few choice acupressure jabs. _Truly the most dangerous person to have on the team,_ he thought_. Mai is no pushover, either. As usual, Azula chooses her friends well._

"Hey." The earthbender had walked over.

"Thanks for standing up for us firebenders, Toph. I owe you one."

"He deserves it, what a jerk," Toph said, kicking a rock mindlessly around the ground. "You don't owe me anything, Sparky. I told you I'd look out for you and earthbend anyone who has a problem with you, remember?"

Zuko chuckled. "I'm older than you, I should be the one looking out for you, not the other way around."

"I'm the greatest earthbender in the world, I don't need anyone to look after me!"

Zuko cocked his head slightly, and smiled at the little girl. "You sound like me. But every time I said it, Uncle always had to break into his sayings, like..." He cleared his throat, and spoke all slow, raspy, and measured. "'Zuko, only the truly strong understand why the tiger-dillo never hunts alone.' or 'Only those who think themselves strong are truly weak.'" Then he put a hand on Toph's shoulder and resumed talking normally. "I never understood or cared about what he had to say when he said it. I guess it's not until now that he's gone that I realize they actually make a lot of sense. And... yes, I do believe you're the greatest bender in the group, Toph, but in my opinion, it doesn't change the fact that two is better than one."

Toph looked up at him in surprise and glee, which quickly turned into a smug smile. Zuko didn't miss it. "Oh, no need to tell me, I know I'm the best bender in the group already."

"Well, whether you like it or not, Toph, I have your back, too."

-k-

Katara watched Toph and Zuko in the corner of her eye and smiled. She wanted to go over as well, but forming little cliques in the group was the last thing the group needed. Instead, she turned to Jet, who had leaned down to pick up a promising twig. "Alright Jet, cough it up, how _did_ you get out of Lake Laogai?" Sokka, who had been stretching somewhere himself, came over to listen. Jet didn't seem in much of a hurry to answer, however, as he inspected the twig and brushed off some dirt. "What up, Katara, you don't believe what I said?"

"No, I do, but when I tried to heal you with the water, I honestly felt like I wasn't making a difference. So I was wondering if that _really_ did make a difference for you."

Jet stuck the twig in his mouth and was chewing it thoughtfully. "Yeah, I didn't feel like the water made any difference either, not until Smellerbee declared that they were going to die with me. Once she said that, I was so desperate _not_ to die that I guess something triggered something else and I felt that little bit stronger. I only thought of it afterwards, that your water did help 'cause the part where you put your hands healed without much of a scar. The area around it was still a bit red, though."

Katara widened her eyes. "Oh... wow, how strange... I'm so glad I did save you, Jet. I couldn't forgive myself for hating you the entire time and then being so helpless."

"So, you still hate me?" Jet asked, flashing a roguish grin.

Katara felt her cheeks burn slightly. "No... I still will never forgive you for what you tried to do to the village, but I don't hate you anymore."

Jet scowled. "I understand why you can't forgive me for the plan I had. But there still is nothing—NOTHING—good about the Fire Nation. I don't care that none of you have 'voted' me into your little group, I'm sticking with you guys to take down the Fire Lord. They took Ba Sing Se, Katara. No one but Earth Kingdom citizens should EVER take Ba Sing Se. Scums," he spat.

Katara sighed. "Jet, please don't treat Zuko the same. He's suffered under the Fire Nation, too, and they're trying to kill him for being a traitor. Not all of them are bad, as Toph says. Iroh really is the best person I've ever known. I hope you can—I mean, you _will_ meet him one day and see for yourself. Give Zuko a chance, for me and Aang's sake. Aang needs a firebending teacher so he can fully realize the Avatar state, and Zuko's the only one who can be that."

Jet didn't look happy, but Katara could tell he had to agree once she mentioned that Aang needed Zuko as a firebending teacher.

"Fine, but if he even looks like he's gonna step outta line..."

"Thank you, Jet!" Katara threw her arms around him for a second, then stepped back. Jet looked a bit surprised and his cheeks were slightly red. She didn't bother to look at Sokka, who she could _feel_ had turned red himself for a completely different reason.

"Um, yeah, I'll... do my best to be...civil..." Jet said, looking over at the firebender who was grinning at something Toph said. Suddenly, a hand clamped down on his shoulder and he looked up to see a resolute-looking Sokka.

"Brothers-in-arms, Jet. I didn't like you after you tried to write off a whole village, but here we will stick together and do the impossible together: be civil to _Zuko_. For _Aang's_ sake. But once little princey steps outta line, we jump him like a hare-hog!"

Jet clamped a hand on Sokka's shoulder as well and gave him a matching look of determination as if they were about to be shipped off to the front lines. Katara rolled her eyes and smacked a hand to her forehead.

-z-

They were _not_ going to make it to Chameleon Bay at the rate they were going. Zuko knew he shouldn't react to Aang's announcement for a fourth 'Appa-break' with such a frustrated sigh. He felt much better after they cleared the Outer Wall and were finally flying over wild Earth Kingdom land, but he was still worried about the war balloons that hadn't shown their face. The times between breaks were also getting shorter and shorter. He really wanted to suggest that they camp for the night instead of flying more, but based on the dagger glares Jet continued to throw him, it would be easy fodder for more accusatory remarks. It was just easier to stay silent when he was stuck with everyone in the saddle.

"Katara," Zuko called quietly as they slid down the bison's tail together for Appa-break number four. She looked at him questioningly and followed him away from the group.

"We need to just set up camp. The bison's flying shorter times and taking longer breaks. It's late anyway and everyone's falling asleep."

She looked uncertain. "Aang knows Appa the best. If Appa really needs needs to sleep, I'm sure he would have said something by now... well, come on, let's go find him."

Zuko resisted an urge to slap his hand to his forehead. Now he just felt like a little kid who was afraid to talk to people he didn't know...which...was just what happened. _Thank Agni you're not in line to be the Fire Lord anymore, you wimp._ he thought miserably.

The Avatar was talking to the Earth King. Neither looked happy, from what Zuko could see.

"Hey, Aang," Katara said softly. "How's Appa doing? Should we just set up camp?"

Aang looked at the Earth King and frowned. "Yeah, Appa needs to rest. We need to rest, too. It's okay, your Highness, there's a nice forest here that'll hide Appa really well, and all of us are top-notch benders and fighters. We'll be okay."

Former Emperor Kuei nodded dejectedly. "Sorry, Aang, I just still just cannot believe what has happened... what I'd done..."

"You didn't do anything wrong, your Highness—"

"Please, just call me Kuei, it's my name."

Zuko's lips twitched. "Welcome to commoner status, Kuei. You'll find it pretty liberating, actually."

Kuei looked up at him with a slightly confused look, but then smiled. "True, it is time I learned how the people I supposedly ruled over, lived. In fact, it's time I actually learned how to rule a kingdom."

"I don't know if it's funny or sad that I could tell you more about your own people than I can about mine..."

Setting up camp was a quick affair. Katara offered Kuei her bedroll since she figured he could hardly be used to sleeping on dirt, which prompted Sokka to grudgingly sacrifice his for Katara. Toph bended herself an earth tent and immediately disappeared. Jet made sure he was as far opposite of Zuko as he could be, and Zuko contented himself with a nice patch of grass under the stars.

The night air was balmy with a slight breeze, and crickets chirped loudly and endlessly. Zuko lay with his head cradled in the weave of his hands and stared through a nice break in the forest canopy that revealed a star-strewn sky. He sighed as he thought of all the past nights he had done just that. The nights after he had cut off his hair 'knot', essentially cutting all ties he had with the Fire Nation. The nights with his uncle, who snored so loudly and without a care even on the day they were declared traitors.

"_Beautiful, isn't it, Zuko? Agni shines brilliantly tonight."_

"_The sky's the same here as it is everywhere! Agni shines all the time, every night!"_

"_Ah, Nephew, to think you have forgotten your star studies already. Agni does not shine every night."_

"_Right, he only shows up during the Summer months, so?"_

_His uncle's face had hardened noticeably. "Zuko, you are alone now, without your crew to navigate and run everything for you. It is time you remembered your star studies and any wilderness training you learned from officer training school."_

"_I was only there for a year before I had to leave! __You know it all better than me, you do it!"_

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He'd never really thought of his earlier attitude toward his Uncle before. Now that he was gone, the memories seemed to be flooding in like court documents. He really wasn't even sure when he'd started to change his attitude about his uncle from lazy and nagging to patient and wise. Possibly not until he realized his uncle wasn't by his side anymore. No... earlier than that, maybe after his sickness.

A rustle of blankets drew his attention, and he saw Katara briskly walk away from the camp. He was about to get up when he realized it might be something better left to herself by herself. He felt his cheeks warm, and squeezed his eyes shut. After what felt like another hour (but probably wasn't) and she still wasn't back, he got up.

Katara was by a small creek at the edge of the forest, an arm immersed in the running water. As Zuko neared, he could see a faint glow.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to announce his presence, a small wall of water crashed down on him and froze him to the spot. "Arrgh, Katara!" he cried as Katara turned around and grinned mischievously. With a wave of her hand, the water unfroze and returned to the creek. "It's dangerous to approach a bender from behind, you idiot!"

"I was about to announce my presence!"

"Well, I sensed you first."

Zuko shook his head hopelessly. "Fine, fine... So what's wrong, is it your arm? I thought you healed it along with Toph's leg once we got on the bison."

Katara dipped her arm back in the water. "I could only heal halfway before I ran out of water. Not to mention... I wonder if there was poison in the knives, it's not healing very quickly."

Alarmed, Zuko rushed over and kneeled down. "Let me see."

Katara showed him her forearm, and Zuko took her hand and peered at the dark, mottled bruise where Mai's dagger had hit. He had an even more limited knowledge of herbs and plants than his uncle, and frankly, he wondered why he bothered to check her wound like he knew what he was doing. But, in this case, he kind of did. "I do remembered being taught that a popular non-lethal pika-snake venom warriors used would slow healing and incapacitate the victim. Did your arm feel numb?"

Katara nodded, looking oddly sheepish. "I think that was why I didn't feel too bad most of the way. I thought it would just heal itself but it was starting to throb awfully when I was trying to sleep, so I came here."

Zuko realized he was still holding her hand and quickly let go, feeling his cheeks warm. "Well, um, the poison is supposed to last for days, but with your healing, hopefully you can get it all out tonight... Don't forget to help Toph tomorrow, though."

"I will, thanks," Katara replied, looking at him curiously.

"I'll... get back to bed. G'night." He said, and caught her waving at him before he stumped back into the woods.

And promptly ducked a double sword swipe.

"Hey, you, firebender _prince_. Just so you know, she's with _me._"

Zuko narrowed his eyes and flexed his fingers. He really missed his broadswords. "If a fight's what you're looking for, then just say so. She's my _friend_, numbskull." In one fluid motion, he dropped to the ground and did a leg-sweep without fire, but Jet had already somersaulted backwards and started charging at him, his right sword coming down on him. Zuko caught his instinctual need to parry with a non-existent sword and ducked again, gathering momentum to punch Jet in the back. Jet stumbled slightly but recovered quickly, hooking his swords together, swinging them around his head, and swiping them high and low to try to catch Zuko in their rotation.

_Where the hell is Katara? How can she not hear all the sword clanging going on? _Zuko thought as he jumped and grabbed onto a low tree branch and swung himself up to avoid Jet's low swipes. He climbed another level of branches for good measure. He had no weapons, and he sure as hell wasn't going to firebend in a forest.

"Get down here and fight me like a man, firebender, before I come up after you!" Jet cried, swinging his swords like a nun-chuck.

Zuko leaned back against the trunk of the tree. "Look, Jet, I remember you from the ship. You're a good guy and I respected your efforts to help the poor. I'm betting your family was also wiped out by the Fire Nation, and I know nothing I say can fix that, but I really am sorry. The whole point of me joining the Avatar here is so I could stop this war, so can you just give me a chance?"

"No." Quick as lightning, Jet had grappled the trunk of the tree with his sword hooks, bypassed the first level, and had landed on Zuko's branch. "The only good firebender is a dead one. You'd do well to remember that."

Zuko immediately ducked a high swipe and stepped off the branch, grabbing it and swinging back to kick Jet off of the branch. Jet was much more adept to the forest, however, and easily dodged the attack. Zuko tried to regain balance on the branch, but slipped, forcing himself to firebend a jet of flame to keep his balance.

"Hey!" _Finally, stupid waterbender. _"Jet, Zuko, get down here!"

Jet easily somersaulted to the ground and landed with a flourish. Zuko found himself making his way down the branches before sliding to the ground.

"Jet, what are you doing?" Katara said, looking severely disappointed.

"Nothing, sweets, was enjoying a midnight stroll before a firebender ruined it."

"What the hell is your problem?" Zuko cried, exhaling steam from his nostrils.

"Jet, didn't you promise me to treat him civilly at least?"

"Of course, we had a very civil spar. Come on, Katara, cut me some slack, you're forcing me to travel with a _firebender_," Jet spat, his eyes glittering dangerously.

Katara had dropped her forehead in the palm of her hand. "No one is forcing you to travel with us, Jet. You're the one who wanted to travel with us. If that's what you want to do, then it's time for you to _grow up_! Otherwise, you'll have to leave."

"Why do you like this guy so much anyway?" Jet said, scowling.

"Because he was able to change, against all odds, Jet. Something you'd do well to try yourself," Katara said, her voice wavering. She suddenly brushed past them angrily, and disappeared into the woods.

Zuko made to follow her, but a hooked-sword suddenly appeared in front of him. He exhaled sharply, frustrated. "What?"

"This isn't the end, firebender, our fight will never be over."

"I get it!"

Jet flipped his sword back into his hand and followed Zuko back to camp.

Zuko stared at the stars again as he lay in his spot he had vacated just earlier. There was just no way he was going to get any sleep tonight, he could feel it. He just wanted to burn a tree to ash just to let off all his pent-up anger. Instead, he tried to control his breathing and was able to achieve a blank mind for a few seconds before wandering to less frustrating thoughts.

"_Good afternoon, Madam Chou, what can I get for you today?"_

_Zuko stood before a small, old wooden table in a packed little, tea house. Across the table, an elderly lady in a gaudy, bright green dress looked like someone took her favorite toy away. _Which_, Zuko thought, _was true. Got to you first, lady, no Uncle for you today. And no more having to suffer their disgusting banter that obviously wastes everyone's time and goes nowhere...

"_Just the usual, my dear Li. Jasmine tea, two red bean cakes, an almond biscuit, and a taro puff. Truly the best combination, as your uncle says. Where is your uncle, dear? I don't see him here..."_

"_He's in the back. I'll go put in the order then," he said quickly, and walked away before she could say anything else. Zuko lifted the dividing curtain to the kitchen, and found his uncle brewing a pot of chrysanthemum tea and filling a tiny bowl up with rock sugar._

"_Uncle, the pika-peacock woman's back. Can't we just kick her out, she's disgusting!" Zuko hissed in his uncle's ear, as he reached for a new teapot and a can of Jasmine tea._

_Iroh's lips twitched in a smile. "Nephew, working in this teashop is an opportunity for you to learn how to stay calm in any situation. Learn to take an unsavory situation and turn it to your advantage. Madam Chou is... persistent, but she is a valued customer and comes every day without fail." Iroh patted Zuko on the shoulder. "Patience, my nephew. The greatest leader is never one who loses his calm."_

Minutes later, Zuko fell asleep.

* * *

_**I know this chapter ended up a bit wordier and less action-oriented, so let me know what you guys think! Jet is a bit of a prick right now, but to me, he's got a lot of hatred to work through first, which he never got a chance to in the series. Unfortunately the world's full of severely prejudiced people who refuse to see anything from another point of view, so his character is depressingly real. Well, Jet will learn—however grudgingly—so fear not, my good readers, it's all about the how! **_

_A__*Also, I've been racking my brain for a good Toph nickname for Jet, but couldn't come up with a good one, so if you have an idea (no matter how silly), click the REVIEW button and let me know!_

_Please, please **REVIEW**, everyone! Even if it's just one word! It seems trivial from a reader's standpoint, but it's HUGE for a writer's self-esteem. **I do find it interesting that I tend to just get reviews the first day I post, and after that, a few favs and alerts. Thank you all, but please throw in a review as well!**_

_My etsy site where you can find Appa charms made by mine own hands!:** cyathula **dot **etsy **dot **com**_


	5. Chapter 5: The Morning Calm

**The Catacombs of Destiny**

Ch 5: The Morning Calm

Zuko opened his eyes. Immediately, his left hand flew to his left eye in surprise, patting all around, then tracing his eyelid.

_Not a dream..._ He widened his eyes as wide as he could, and squeezed them shut as hard as he could. _Not a dream!_ He thought, taking a deep, grateful, shuddering breath and blinking back tears of intense joy. How many times had waking up been the worst part of the day? How many times had he had to prove to himself that the resistance and the limited vision in his left eye was not the dream? How many times had he fought back tears of abject depression instead of unbelievable joy? A tear leaked out of his left eye anyway, and he didn't move to stop it. He put his hands over both of this eyes, feeling the almost smooth symmetry and telling himself it was actually real. His left index finger found the bordering groove of where the edge of his disfiguring scar used to be. There still was a fairly prominent scar on his face, but what really mattered was that he didn't feel it, and it wasn't obstructive. And it wasn't horrifying. He dropped his arms on the dewy grass and looked around him.

A slight morning mist hung in the air, and golden rays of the dawn sun filtered through the tree tops. The break in the trees afforded him a view of dusky pink clouds floating in a grayish blue sky. He knew the stereotype that firebenders rise with the sun, but today was seriously just coincidence. Uncle sure always took his sweet time getting up, and the break of dawn really was not something Zuko usually woke up to see. He rubbed his eyes, wiping off the sand. Not to mention, if the waterbenders rose with the moon, they should all be nocturnal. _Stupid stereotypes..._ He could hear the water tribe boy snoring louder than everyone else. He wondered briefly when these people normally woke up.

Today, with a fresh Appa, they should be able to make it to Chameleon Bay, where the Southern Water Tribe had apparently camped out to protect Ba Sing Se—New Ozai—from Fire Nation navy. And now...thanks to Katara's brother, they were now readying an attack on his homeland come the day of the eclipse. Zuko swallowed a lump that formed in his throat at the word 'homeland'. _Treasonous! Traitor! Fool!_

He forced himself to take a deep breath. _ It is still my homeland. It will always be my homeland. No words will change that. _ He still felt sad though. Sad that the whole world actually hated his country, his people, his very identity. Somehow, for the majority of his life, he believed that people were actually grateful for the Fire Nation bringing 'progress' to their countries...even if it meant conquering them. And now, here he is, going to join the Southern Water Tribe's attempt to fight for justice. He was curious to see what their plan was, since there simply was no way such a small nation's already-crippled navy could possibly win against the Fire Nation's finely tuned warships, eclipse or no. _You are a bigger fool and a disgrace than I could ever have imagined! _hissed the voice of his father in his head. Zuko swallowed another lump in his throat. No matter what, a slight yearning still tugged his heart when he thought of his father. _A disgrace... that's all you are and ever will be!_

_NO! _ countered an image of Uncle facing off with his dad,_ Zuko is no disgrace! He is merely a baby moose-lion, not quite matured! But when he is, he will be magnificent! _Zuko pinched his nose at such a silly but plausible statement coming from Uncle that his mind made up. His father's stern face rose up again; his Uncle's disappearing. _You fell for a water wench's touch, you weakling, taking bribes and switching sides... _ Zuko frowned, and consciously pictured himself yelling back. _You know nothing of sincerity, Father! Pure, wondrous sincerity. You, the monster who burned his own son! Monster! I hate you! I don't know what I ever saw in you! You're no father of mine! _His father's lips curled into a cruel smile, just like the day he banished him. _And I never had a son, especially one as pathetic as you. The Fire Nation is home to no weakling like you... begone! _

A gust of wind suddenly came from his left side, and he swiftly jumped from his reclining position into a fighting stance. But then relaxed when he saw it was the Avatar with his pet lemur on his head.

"Hotman!"

Zuko jumped in surprise and stared down at the Avatar in complete, utter bewilderment. "'Hotman?'"

"Yeah!" the Avatar—_sorry, Aang_—said, grinning so wide that Zuko wondered if his head was wider than it was long. "Hotman! That's the Fire Nation greeting, right?"

_Oh Agni above. _ He smacked a hand to his forehead, then put his hand on Aang's shoulder. "Aang," he said seriously, "that's a horribly outdated greeting that only the people in the outer islands used, and even then, everyone else made fun of it. Please, please, don't ever say that again...everyone cringes at that word."

The Av—Aang frowned. "Really? My friend Kuzon taught me that. But...I guess Kuzon...did live a hundred years ago..."

Now Zuko felt kind of bad. "Which island did Kuzon live on?" _'cause it sure can't be the capital..._

"Uh... I dunno, I can get there with my eyes closed, though!"

"Yeah, let me know, because if it's Changming Island, he might still be alive. That island is known for a lot of people living well over hundred. I think the record was a woman—not an Avatar, of course—who lived 'til a hundred and thirty-two. They have some special diet or something."

Aang was about to say something when... "MOTHER LA! BE QUIET AND GO BACK TO SLEEP LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE!" the water tribe boy screamed from his sleeping spot, freaking the lemur out and making it screech and fly off. The combination of boy and lemur, however, did wake everyone else up, including apparently, Toph, who immediately catapulted the boy to the trees with a large slab of rock jutted from the ground.

"Um, sorry?" Aang said, sending an airball to break the boy's fall. Katara scooted out of her sleeping bag, looking extremely peeved and glaring at her brother's crumpled body on the ground. She quickly rolled up her bag, left it, picked up a cooking pot and a pail, and disappeared into the forest in the direction of the creek. Jet and his gang promptly got up as well. He shot Zuko a dirty look—which Zuko rolled his eyes at—and went into another direction of forest. Kuei, oddly enough, hadn't woken up at all and continued to sleep as if nothing had happened.

Aang turned back to Zuko and shot him the sunniest smile he'd ever seen. "So there's really a Fire Nation island where people live a long time?! Kuzon's island's like, the island farthest away from the capital! Maybe not the farthest, but yeah, one of those. We have to go, Kuzon was one of my best friends! By the way, are we gonna start firebending lessons today?! If I meet him I wanna show him! I learned some already from Jeong Jeong, so I'm ready for some tough stuff!"

"Um..." Zuko looked down at the hyperactive kid before him. So different from the mature one yesterday... Somehow, he was pretty certain this kid wasn't going to like learning Firebending Fundamentals. No kid ever did... "Weren't we in some hurry?"

Aang shook his head. "Shouldn't take too long right? Just a bit? Please?"

Zuko frowned and crossed his arms. "Fine. We always start with breathing exercis—"

"But I already learned that!"

Now Zuko felt his cheeks heat. Breathing exercises take months to perfect. "Look, Aang, until you can prove to me that you can control your breathing like a well-trained mongoose-dragon, I'm not teaching you ANY firebending!" He took a deep breath as Aang's face fell. "Well, look, if you can't control your breathing, you can hurt yourself and others around you really bad. I know from experience, and it's something you want to avoid."

Aang seemed to have deflated back to the more mature kid Zuko remembered. "Actually," Aang said in a small voice, "I have hurt others. I hurt Katara when I first firebended. I burned her hands, and if she didn't discover that she could heal herself, I... Anyway, after that, I refused to ever firebend again. Except now, of course, since you'll be my teacher."

Zuko nodded. "Well, nothing like experience to learn by. Keep that in mind and take your breathing exercises seriously. No one in the Fire Nation is even allowed to make fire legally until they pass the dreaded National Breathing Control Exam." He squirreled up his face and thought hard to his beginning days with his private master. "Let's start with learning how to breathe right. It sounds stupid, but it's important. I know maybe Jeong Jeong taught you, but I have to make sure. The way most people breathe is shallow. You have to learn to breathe deep, like trying to bring air down to fuel the flames in the pit of your stomach. The more you practice, the longer breaths you can hold. The longer breaths you can hold, the more fire you can punch out as you exhale. Get it?"

Aang had a look of determination that Zuko liked. "Got it, Sifu Hotman!"

Zuko went red in the face. "Don't call me that! Now, go practice until you show me you can hold your breath for five minutes!"

"Five!? Why?!"

Zuko pinched his nose. Maybe five might kill the kid right now... "Okay, three. But I expect five minutes by the end of the day." Aang still looked ready to argue. "You're on the fast track, so we can't afford any delays! There's also no escaping breathing exercises, Aang, if you don't strengthen your lungs before you start handling actual fire, you'll never be able to master it, understand? If you learn fire with that erratic breathing you have now, you'll hurt more people than just Katara." That got the kid's attention. Aang abandoned his pout, furrowed his brows, and bowed to Zuko, then flew off into the trees on his airball. Zuko watched the spot where Aang disappeared for a few seconds, then smacked his forehead with his hands. _Oh Agni, you haven't even taught him how and you sent him to go practice. What are you doing? _ He was about to follow after him when Toph's stone tent promptly retreated into the ground, revealing her seated with her arms crossed and looking smug.

"Sooo, how do you like your new student, Sparky? Just a word of advice. Go hard on Twinkletoes, and make sure he doesn't run away, 'cause he does that a lot. Give 'im hell! Now, hurry up before he plays hooky."

-k-

Katara watched from her place on the banks of the creek. Aang had found a spot on the creek bend and had sat down to meditate, which confused her since she thought she heard that firebending lessons were starting. Zuko then showed up a couple minutes later, kicked him up, knocked his legs apart and forced him into a partial sitting position—the horse stance.

Fire moves really intrigued Katara. It definitely wasn't the fire (of which she still held a deep grudge), but just the moves themselves. Every punch and kick spoke of strength, confidence, and vigor. They were concise, but executed with plenty of flare. Completely opposite of waterbending, which emphasized versatility, grace, and calm. Unfortunately, it didn't look like Zuko was teaching Aang any firebending stances today. _Disappointing!_

As the two of them settled into what looked like an uncomfortable meditation stance, Katara faced the river and swept her hand over the river in an upward motion, capturing a small school of fish in a water bubble and depositing said fish into her pail.

She returned to her spot to watch the two boys and noticed Aang's face had turned a nasty shade of blue before sputtering and breathing for dear life. Zuko yelled something at him, shook his head, and made him repeat some moves. Anyone yelling at Aang besides her would usually make Katara angry, but for some reason she really didn't mind right now. She was honestly just so very relieved that the two of them were training and for the most part, getting along. Zuko was her charge, as far as she was concerned, and getting him situated into the group was part of her duty. She could see the perfect family coming together... Sokka would finally have a guy friend his age (alright, Jet, too...), Zuko would finally be a part of a family of friends...

"Hey there, princess."

Katara froze up slightly. _ Relax the shoulders, Katara, I'm sure he can see it... _She looked behind her and shot Jet a smile. "Morning, how're you?" _That's pretty sad, Katara, you used to get butterflies in your stomach every time Jet's name was mentioned, now you freeze up? _

Jet sat down next to her and watched Zuko demonstrate some different arm movements to Aang. He frowned. "We do have to keep him, don't we?"

"If you want Aang to master the Avatar state, then yes," Katara said simply. _Chewing on some weedy grass today; how appropriate, and just like him, a weedy kid..._

"We're going to your dad's hidden bunch of ships, Katara. Aren't you the least bit worried that he's not trustworthy? I mean, he could tell the Fire Nation details about your dad! And I can't believe you told him about the eclipse!"

_Of course weeds hate well-pruned garden plants_, Katara thought, getting rather impressed with her plant analogy. "I told him about the eclipse because he has a right to know what he's gotten himself into."

Jet sighed. "I still can't understand why you trust this guy so much."

"I didn't trust him at all a week ago, but that was before I got to know him and his uncle. They're good people, Jet. They can't help being born in the Fire Nation, let alone in a deranged royal family. Zuko's father and sister are psychopaths for sure, and they kicked out Zuko and his uncle because they're not like them. I mean, his own father banished him; he hasn't been back for three years!" She looked over at Jet and saw him scowling. "Alright look, I know nothing I say will change what you think, so you can just keep watching him for some traitorous act. I promise you you'll be disappointed. But I'm gonna be blunt here: If you continue to pick fights with Zuko and make all of us miserable, I'll have to kick you out of the gang. Got it?"

"Gotcha," Jet said easily, which made Katara think he probably didn't mean it. "But have you even thought about what your father will think of him? All the water-tribesmen?"

Katara really hadn't thought of it at all. "Well, we're really lucky to have Zuko on our side, Jet. He can tell us a lot about fighting the Fire Nation."

"Don't be naive, Katara, you're asking the crown prince to go against his own country. Even if he didn't get along with with his Fire Lord father, he's—oh..."

"What?" Katara cried as Jet seemed to just suddenly lapse into some serious thinking.

"I get it, he's trying to take the throne from his dad!"

She stared at him blankly. "What? Er, I don't think so..." _Wait, could that be true? _ Zuko never struck her as being ambitious about power...

"Well, why else would the crown prince of the Fire Nation switch sides? It makes sense!"

"He's not power-hungry!"

"Well, what else is he going to do if we wins?"

"Um...help his uncle run a teashop?" Katara said, grinning stupidly. _He has a point...I wonder if Zuko even knows what taking down the Fire Lord means...I'll have to talk to him. _ Suddenly, she was hit with an idea. She shouldn't be persuading Jet from thinking Zuko wasn't doing this for the throne! If Jet believes this, maybe he'll like Zuko more. "Maybe you're right, Jet... I never thought about that."

Jet stroked his chin, smiling smugly. "Ah, not bad, not bad. This makes sense if he's really on our side." He looked at Katara and furrowed his brows. "This doesn't mean I trust him any more."

Katara smiled smugly back. "I know. Go ahead and keep your eye on him."

Jet turned back to watch Zuko and Aang. "What are they doing? Meditating? What kind of training is this crap?"

Zuko and Aang were both facing each other, both in the horse stance, arms to the side, hands fisted, and faces tilted slightly up. Aang's eyes were closed, but Katara could tell Zuko was watching him. It looked much more serious than the last breathing exercise. Some kind of test?

"Deep breathing exercises, I think," Katara said. "I didn't hear too clearly, but it sounds like the fundamentals to firebending."

"It looks more like someone's wasting our time."

Katara glared at him. "Aang had a firebending teacher briefly before Zuko, and he started out the exact same way! Don't give them a hard time about it, I swear." She got up, a pot of water and her pail of fish in hand. "I need to go make some breakfast. Actually, if you don't mind foraging for some fruit and stuff, that'd be great."

Jet grinned. "Oh, no worries, princess, I can do better than that. Forest hunting is my specialty! Expect a hare-hog in five minutes or less!"

"Fruit and veggies, too!"

-j-

Jet wasn't one to sit around and dwell on anything. He needed to be in action whenever he could, and hunting a wild hare-hog gave him something to do and reminded him of his treehouse home. He leapt from tree to tree, scouting out hare-hogs or boar-q-pines or anything else that moved and could make a decent buffet. A shadow passed by him, and he didn't have to look to know that Longshot had joined him. Wordless, because words weren't needed. A small squeal came from a brush two trees over, and as he leapt to the next tree, Longshot had nocked his arrow. _Easy, very easy. _He signaled to Longshot, who released, the arrow whizzing into the bush. An ear-piercing squeal sounded, followed by a deep grunt. What came out of the bush was a huge hare-hog, and it wasn't the one he shot. It stood half a man's height, with floppy ears, and large flaring snout. Jet cocked an eyebrow in amusement, shook his head at Longshot, and leapt softly to the ground, facing the creature. He stood his ground and waited for the hog to make a move. After a few angry snorts and a large bellow, the creature charged. Jet leapt at the last minute, positioning his hooked sword to hook under the hog's throat as he somersaulted behind it. It was short work; work he and his old gang of Freedom Fighters had done daily for years. Longshot leapt down from the tree and looked at him as the boar gurgled to its death.

"Where's the one you shot?"

Longshot shook his head.

"It's okay, we don't need it. Go back to camp and see if they have something to drag this guy back, will you? I'm just curious where the other hare-hog went."

Jet searched all around the bush, and spied a small bit of blood, a thin trail, then nothing. He checked the leaves of the surrounding trees and noted a small drop of blood on a leaf. Hare-hogs don't fly, let alone hurt ones. Further along, a snapped branch. It looked forcibly broken, as if someone left in a hurry and snagged it. Oddly, it looked as if it was snagged upward. He leapt into the trees and looked around, searching for more clues. He noted leaves in the upper branches brushed with blood. It was a person he was chasing. _Firebenders!_ he thought, wildly. _No, no, why the hell would Fire Nation take off with my breakfast?_ But if it was, it must be one very powerful person who could snatch a hog without either him nor Longshot noticing. A tiny, strangled squeal issued from somewhere further off and Jet leapt into action, as quickly and quietly as he could.

Next to an uprooted tree root system sat a girl in pink, whose dress was splattered with darker splotches of blood. In her hands was a baby hare-hog, whose mouth was cupped by one hand. Her other hand was trying to carefully pull the arrow out. Jet frowned at the crying girl who was saying sweet nothings to calm the hog. She looked absolutely nothing like a heartless firebender. With a sigh, he jumped down.

"Do you need any help, miss?"

She looked up in alarm, and Jet noted her eyes were the same shade of chestnut brown as her braided hair. Firebender eyes were always gold, and firebender hair is always black. She was not a firebender.

"Did you do this? It's just a baby! That's so cruel!"

Jet crossed his arms. "The Fire Nation killed my family when I was little and burned my village to the ground. Now, that is cruel," he said, staring at the girl, who looked even more upset.

"That's...that is awful... But you killed this baby's mommy, too."

"It's an animal. And a person's gotta eat. Don't tell me you just live off of fruit or something."

"Animals have feelings, too..." she said, looking depressed. "Well...I don't hunt animals! And fruits and nuts are good for you anyway!"

He rolled his eyes. "It's not like I don't eat fruits and nuts either... Anyway, where're you from?"

She looked up in surprise, then grinned widely. "I'm an acrobat! I work for the circus!"

"Really? Aren't circuses all run by the Fire Nation?" Jet asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Uh...yes, I guess so. But I just do acrobatics...we weren't—we aren't political at all! We just like to make people smile!"

Jet sighed. There had always been traveling circuses in the Earth Kingdom, so it wasn't that odd. "I didn't notice you takin' the baby hare-hog at all, you must be fast."

"Yup!" she said cheerfully, tears forgotten. "I'm the fastest person in the world!"

"I see." Jet walked over and squatted next to the baby hare-hog. "Here, let me get the arrow out. You can stop suffocating it now."

In one swift motion of someone who's done it many times before, he quickly pushed the arrow further in (resulting in the baby's high pitched squeal) and carefully eased it out of the wound. He reached into a side pocket, drew out some cloth strips he always kept with him, and tied it tightly around the pig's body with a large bow on top. "Here you go, miss, your new pet."

The girl was now looking slightly bewildered as she took the hog from his hands. "Um, thanks..."

"Are you lost? Need a ride somewhere? I got some friends with transportation," Jet asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. _She actually looks kinda familiar..._

"N-no... I'm not lost. I, um, was just out for a walk in the woods from the circus... but I can find my way back, easily. Thanks for the offer, though!" she said with a large grin.

Jet extended a hand and flashed a roguish smile. "The name's Jet, what's yours?"

She looked elated. "I'm...I'm Lily! Nice to meet you! I think my boss's gonna be worried about me so I'd better go... but maybe we'll meet again!"

Jet gave her a casual salute and walked away, his mouth in a slight frown.

-k-

"What's wrong with you, Jet? You've been so spaced out over breakfast!" Katara said, as they packed up camp. Jet was tossing the bedding onto Appa, where Sokka took it and tied it down.

"Yeah!" Toph chimed in as she lay in a lounge chair she bended from the ground. "Twiggy hasn't shot Sparky any dirty looks all morning! That's messed up!"

"Um, actually he did give me a dirty look when he first woke up..." Zuko muttered, helping Katara pack up extra food.

Sokka suddenly burst out laughing. "'TWIGGY!' HAHAHAHAHA, that's the best one yet, Toph, good one!"

"Why thank you, oh Snoozles, but that's not the only—"

"Alright! Can't a man have a right to get some peace once in a while? For cryin' out loud..." Jet cried, leaping into Appa's saddle and disappearing from all but Sokka's view.

Zuko looked at Katara, who shrugged. Then everyone looked at Longshot and Smellerbee, who shook her head and waved her hands in front of her. "Not me, I know nothin', I was just pickin' fruit." Longshot just shook his head and proceeded to go join Jet.

According to Aang, they didn't have much further to go. Everyone actually seemed more relaxed especially since Jet was slightly spaced out for whatever reason. Aang sat at his place of honor on Appa's head, and everyone else squeezed to the sides of the saddle to relax against the low wall, leaving Bosco lying in a meat coma in the center with Momo (in a fruit coma) lying on top of him. This time, Jet had occupied the back of the saddle, and Katara, Zuko, and Toph found themselves next to Aang in the front.

"What's your father like?" Zuko asked quietly.

Katara frowned, mentally suppressing a surge of dislike. "Oh, he's okay."

That earned her a puzzled look from Zuko. _Alright fine, Dad's nothing like his dad..._

She sighed. "Well, he left me and Sokka to fight you guys when we were really young. So I don't really know him anymore."

"What're you talking about, Katara?" Sokka said, a few bodies away. "He's the same awesome dad as ever! Don't worry, Zuko, he'll take great care of you when you get there! Hehe..."

"Yeah..." Zuko said sullenly, looking out at the bay at the horizon. "I'm sure he will."

Katara put a hand on his shoulder. "He was our village chief. He was honest, fair, and a strong warrior. I honestly don't think you have anything to worry about from him, but I'll be at your side, Zuko, so don't worry."

"Me, too!" Toph cried, punching him in the other arm, which made him call out.

"And me, Sifu Hotman!"

"Aargh, quit calling me that!"

-z-

_Eight ships._

_Eight little ships!_

Zuko wanted to bang his head on something while everyone else was cheering at finally reaching their destination. _Eight ships was the size of a Fire Nation flotilla! _

On the inner banks of of the crescent shaped bay, the Southern Water Tribe warriors had formed a decent sized camp. A large tent bearing the symbol of the moon and ocean sat at the head of about two rows of smaller tents. Once Appa landed, Zuko reluctantly slid down Appa's tail along with the rest of them. A few men dressed in the blues and white furs of the water tribe came to greet them, one of which, greeted Sokka so warmly he wondered if he was the father.

"Sokka, I didn't expect so many people! Katara!"

"Bato!" Katara cried back excitedly, hugging the man tightly. "Let me introduce everyone—"

"No, wait until we meet your father, come."

No one gave him any strange looks, which Zuko thought was nice. Then he remembered he was still dressed in the green dress robes of when he and Uncle were going to visit to the Earth King. _Has it been that long?!_ He looked down at the wrinkled, dusty robes and sniffed. Hopefully he didn't smell too bad...


	6. Chapter 6: Chameleon Bay

**The Catacombs of Destiny**

Ch 6: Chameleon Bay

-z-

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose as he shifted from foot to foot, waiting in front of the Southern Water Tribe Chief's tent. Katara and Sokka had gone in first to get the family hugs out of the way. _Hugs, surely, like a normal non-royal, non-psychopathic family...or not_, Zuko thought, thinking suddenly of Katara's brief look of cold resentment when he had asked her about her father. It surprised him, and if they weren't surrounded by a ton of people, he would have asked her more about it. There was no way her father was as bad as his. But he'll know soon enough...

He felt a bit jittery, and he honestly didn't know why. Was it fear? Fear of what? Fear that he was going to be found out as an evil firebender and get diced to pieces? Or just fear of meeting the notorious (renowned, by any other nation) Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe? Hakoda was a name every good Fire Nation seaman had heard of. He was known for his naval prowess and clever, guerilla attack strategies. It really was only due to sheer force of number and better technology of the Fire Nation that he wasn't more of a threat, just a huge nuisance.

_No, this isn't fear. This is just plain nerves. _This was similar to whenever his own father summoned him, and every time he summoned him it was never a good thing.

_But you're royalty, and these are savages! Being nervous about meeting peasantry, this is shameful! _

Zuko sighed, not entirely immune to the feelings of contempt he once would have echoed out loud. The animal skins and weapons he saw the tribesmen carry around didn't help his outlook. In some ways he really wondered how Hakoda was ever a threat to begin with, what with those crude looking jawbone clubs and piddly little reed and wooden ships. Zuko felt a little better after thinking that, and tried to distract himself (before feelings of guilt for thinking that followed) by looking around at what the others were doing. Aang was talking with Toph. Jet was talking with his crew. Kuei was talking to Bosco, which made Zuko smirk in spite of himself. Appa was getting a rubdown by some water tribesmen, but for the most part, none of them paid them much mind. A few moments later, the tent flap lifted.

Katara came out first, looking moody and ill-tempered. Her brother came out next, looking like he was having the best day of his life. Then, Hakoda emerged, and though he was not very tall, he seemed to tower over both of his children. Zuko honestly had no idea what Katara and Sokka's father would look like, but the craggy, weathered face on the man that now stood before him took him by surprise. Hakoda looked much older than his own father; he was broad-shouldered, well-muscled, shaggy-haired, and his face belied a keen intelligence. He and Sokka also looked remarkably alike, but his eyes were the same as Katara's: piercing, ocean-blue eyes that seemingly cut to the soul. It's odd how some people can just make a person feel uncomfortable just by their very presence, and Hakoda looked to be one of them.

"I apologize that we will not all be able to fit in my tent for a proper meeting; we will have to make do out here," Hakoda said in a rough and commanding voice as he surveyed the newcomers. His eyes paused on Zuko's briefly, making the latter gulp slightly under the former's slightly narrowed, questioning gaze. "So, Aang, Sokka, I see you've rescued not only Katara, but many others as well."

"Yup! We found some old friends!" Aang said happily, as he gave Hakoda a respectful bow. _Hmm_, Zuko thought, _Aang doesn't seem affected by the older man at all_. "It is good to see you again, Chief Hakoda."

Sokka presented Kuei first. "Here's his highness, the Earth King."

Kuei shook his head. "I am no longer the Earth King, just Kuei. I am honored to meet you, Chief Hakoda, I've heard much about you."

Hakoda shook his head. "No, you are the Earth King, and you will always be the Earth King. This is only a temporary setback, and we are more than honored to offer you protection until you return to the throne."

"I really do not want to burden anyone," Kuei said, looking downcast. "The Earth Kingdom fell because of me. I was so detached from my people, and had no idea about the affairs of the kingdom at all. I've decided I need to travel the Earth Kingdom now that I have no attachments, and get to know the very people I'm trying to rule."

Hakoda shook his head again. "I mean no offense, but the Earth Kingdom is now a very dangerous place for anyone to travel without some means of defense or offensive capabilities. Stay with us, it is not a burden, I assure you. The knowledge to rule a people come from many different places, perhaps you'll learn much by traveling with us instead."

Zuko breathed a sigh of relief; he was about to smack his forehead in frustration when he heard the former king say he wanted to travel the lands by himself. Bosco may be a bear, but Zuko doubted the pampered animal could even protect itself. Kuei was an intelligent guy, but ridiculously clueless.

"Name's Toph. Toph Bei Fong. I'm the greatest earthbender and only known metalbender in the world. Nice to meet ya." Zuko shook his head at the girl's frank disrespect. _ If she did that in front of his dad—_

Hakoda burst out laughing, making Zuko jump in surprise. "I've heard quite a bit about you from Sokka, Toph. I'm honored to meet the greatest earthbender in the world, and I'm sure glad you're on our side."

Toph grinned. "Heya Snoozles, I sure hope you weren't complaining about me."

"Sure was, Toph, complainin's my specialty and I do it when I can!"

Jet stepped forward and introduced himself and his two henchmen as part of his army of the disbanded 'Freedom Fighters', all comprised of war orphans.

Hakoda suddenly looked as if he remembered something, and it didn't seem entirely good. "Ah... yes, Sokka said you were a dedicated fighter against the Fire Nation. We can always use a good leader and more men. Do you think you could reform your old group?"

"I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be a problem, sir," Jet said, looking smug.

And then... The piercing blue eyes returned to Zuko. His palms felt sweaty, and he hated the nervousness he felt. _Why _did he feel so nervous?

Sokka gestured nonchalantly to him and deadpanned, "And here is—"

"Zuko, pri—former prince to the Fire Nation. Nice to um, meet you." Zuko finished, head lowered in a respectful bow. It was kind of odd, usually other people were the ones bowing to him. Thank Agni his months working as a menial tea servant helped cut down his pride.

"Zuko?" Hakoda echoed in surprise. "I've heard about you. You're the banished prince, is that right?"

Zuko looked up in surprise. Suddenly, curious whispers of 'that banished prince' echoed around him, and water tribesmen seemed to inch closer to get a good look at him. "How—?"

Hakoda smirked. "We've heard much in our travels and encounters with Fire Nation troops. You're quite the popular rumor topic. A couple years back, your banishment was all we ever overheard. However, recently we also heard you were dead, as well as wanted, which didn't make any sense. Now that I see you're definitely alive, what can I do for you, Prince Zuko?"

"I'm not a prince anymore, so um, just Zuko is fine. I was just... I mean I was hoping—I'd like to help you...if you want." Zuko finally finished, mentally cursing his public speaking ineptitude.

"Weren't you chasing the Avatar for the past year?" Hakoda asked, looking at Sokka, who shrugged.

"I—I was, yes, but I'm not, uh, doing that anymore. I realized it was a stupid idea and stopped."

There was a split second of awkward silence before Katara suddenly appeared by his side.

"Dad, Zuko was only chasing the Aang because Aang was his only hope of returning to the Fire Nation. But after the Northern Water Tribe invasion, his father and sister wanted him and his uncle dead—"

"Your uncle? You mean the Dragon of the West? The great General Iroh?"

"Yes. Azula currently has him in her clutches. I have to rescue him!" Zuko said, scowling.

Hakoda crossed his arms. "I am very curious how the invincible Dragon of the West could possibly be captured."

Zuko clenched his teeth. "My uncle stayed behind to battle Azula so that all of us here could escape! There were a ton of Dai Li agents and Fire Nation soldiers, and while my uncle IS powerful, he isn't that good. I'm here to offer you guys all the help I can; I just ask that you guys help me rescue my uncle. He means everything to me."

"And how will you help us? Would you go against your own father, the Fire Lord? Your own nation? We've heard about an infamous Agni Kai, and how the Fire Lord actually burned his own son and banished him. Then I hear from Sokka that you've been chasing the Avatar to bring him back as a prize for your father. I see you have some deep loyalty to your nation and to your father, and I find it hard to believe you would suddenly turn around and help us."

Zuko turned an angry shade of red at Hakoda's words, his head was pounding, and his hands were clenched so tight they were shaking. "You...heard? You...heard about the Agni Kai? And details of it? Who talked about it? Why do you know this?"

"We did a lot of spying on board Fire Nation ships. No one knew a lot about the Agni Kai, they just knew it happened. We heard everything I told you from the captains to the helmsmen. Rumor spreads faster than fire, I would think you would know that. I confess I can't understand how a father could be so cruel, and even less why a son would still do his father's bidding after all that. What I do understand, is that you are a prince, and his nation should mean everything to him. Why do you want to help us?"

Zuko's ears were pounding so hard, Hakoda's words sounded far away and unclear. He vaguely registered the shocked, horrified looks on Katara's and most everyone's faces. _ Everyone knows my shame now... Even my whole nation...knows my shame... The doctor... Azula... everyone around me... they all lied to me, telling me that the nation was being told that I was going on a journey. I should have known Father wouldn't have cared. He would have wanted the whole nation to know the crown prince was worthless! No, Uncle never lied, he told me the truth... I just never listened to him and thought him crazy._ Zuko squeezed his eyes tight at the thought. _ I'm the most ungrateful—_

"Well?"

His head snapped up, forgetting the man was there. _Well, what? _ Zuko ground his teeth in frustration when he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Katara smiling sadly at him. A split second later, her eyes were narrowed at her father. "Can't you see what you said is causing Zuko a lot of pain? Don't you know when to stop talking and think about how others might feel? It's pretty obvious Zuko has a terrible and painful past which you just breezily told everyone here about, and maybe he doesn't want to spill any more about it for you tonight!"

Zuko's anger evaporated immediately and looked at the furious girl beside him in amazement. He realized his mouth was slightly hung open and closed it.

Hakoda sighed and moved to put a hand on Katara's shoulder, which she slapped away. "Alright, Katara, you seem to know Zuko quite well and support him, so I'll ask you. Why do you have so much faith in him that he won't turn on us?"

"I don't." Zuko stared at her in shock, and felt pretty hurt. But she didn't look at him as she continued. "I don't know whether he's gonna lose it if you keep treating him like he's some kind of monster! Zuko's as human as any of us, and he was just as confused about how he stood with his family. I think it would take a lot of courage to admit your own family is crazy and incapable of love, but he did finally do it when we were stuck in the Ba Sing Se dungeons! Zuko had only one person who supported him these past years: a loving, and very wise uncle. Iroh doesn't believe in the war the Fire Nation is waging, and that's why he was traveling with Zuko, and also why he kept Azula at bay to help us escape. These are good people who want to help us, and not to mention... Aang needs a firebending teacher so he can master the Avatar state. Tell me where else you're gonna find a willing firebending teacher! Quit giving Zuko such a hard time!"

This time, Zuko put a hand on Katara's shoulder. He felt oddly confident now, and his anger had given him a good adrenaline rush. "Look, I can't ask you to just trust me, of course. But to answer your question, Chief Hakoda, I do love my nation and it does still mean everything to me. I, and most of the Fire Nation, were brought up on the twisted logic that we were somehow spreading our wealth to the rest of the impoverished world. Since my banishment began, I slowly started to see just what sort of terrible havoc we've inflicted upon the world. But it wasn't until my uncle and I were on the run this past year that I really began to understand just how wrong the path is that the Fire Nation has taken. I believe the only way to put the Fire Nation back on the right track is to take down the current Fire Lord and Princess Azula, who is as heartless and cunning as her father. The Fire Lord is a cruel man, and yes, I wish I had seen that after the things he's done to me, but you can't blame a kid who has tried his whole life to get some kind of approval from his own father. There's only so much abuse I could take though, and my uncle helped me finally come to terms with the fact that whatever caring father I remembered him to be died once he grabbed the throne. So, yes, I can help you go against the Fire Lord."

Hakoda stroked his chin thoughtfully, looking at Zuko with a newfound curiosity. "So I keep hearing all you talk about the Dragon of the West like he is some guru. The last I had heard of him, he was fallen into disgrace after his failure at capturing Ba Sing Se during the Six Hundred Day Siege. Tell me more about him."

A brief surge of anger flared at the word 'disgrace' being used toward his uncle, but Zuko calmed himself down. "Let me clarify that my uncle only failed to capture Ba Sing Se because his son was killed on the front lines before he was able to breach the Inner Wall. My cousin Lu Ten meant everything to him, everything. After he died, my uncle completely changed and became a pacifist, which guaranteed him as the family outcast. That was also probably why he chose to follow me into banishment since I was the most promising member of the family who might listen to his ramblings on peace and balance. My uncle supported me, cared for me, and guided me even when I least deserved it. It took him more than two years to finally get his views through to me, and now I'm ready to realize it for him."

There was a second of stunned silence, and with relief, he noted that Hakoda had a slight smile on his face. Everyone else, he realized, had a rather awed expression on their faces, even Jet. Honestly, Zuko couldn't believe what was coming out of his mouth as he was talking, either. A warm, fuzzy feeling rose up in his body.

"Zuko's a good man, Chief Hakoda," Aang suddenly said, breaking the silence, and stood next to Katara. "He saved me once before."

"That's right! I'm with Zuko all the way!" Toph piped up, sliding next to Zuko and giving him a punch in the arm. "Not to mention, Chiefers, if Zuko ever tries anythin' funny, he'd have to answer to both Iroh and me, and I'm sure he wouldn't want to do that!"

Zuko rubbed his arm, and chuckled hesitantly. "Right, Toph..."

Hakoda laughed suddenly, a full, hearty laugh. "Alright, I get it. Prince Zuko, I will give you some of my trust, but the rest won't be given freely. It's easy to say the Fire Lord is not your father, but I'm sure he still looks like him. Our mission is to take him down, and if you actually help us do that, then you will have earned my deepest respect. Right now me and my men need to plan for the imminent arrival of Fire Navy reinforcements now that Ba Sing Se has fallen. If any of you are interested, feel free to join me out here after you guys relax a bit and freshen up." And he returned to his tent, followed by a rather impressed looking Bato.

Zuko let out a huge sigh, and was promptly knocked over by a hug from Katara, followed by a cry of "Yeah! Group hug!" from Sokka, and a barrage of bodies against him.

"I told you there wasn't anything to worry about; you were amazing!" Katara said next to his ear. It gave him the goosebumps to have her so near, and for those few seconds, he forgot that three other bodies were pressing on him as well. He smiled, and swallowed a lump of emotion.

-k-

"Can you believe the stuff that came out of my mouth? I swear I was hearing someone else talking with my voice!" Zuko said as they walked along the pebbly beach, which was barely feet away from the nearest tent. Everyone had split off to do their own thing, and Katara had found herself following Zuko.

"Yeah, I know," Katara said, thinking of Haku and his dad. "I tried to give a rousing speech to some earthbenders who were imprisoned on a Fire Nation rig. I thought my speech was pretty good—I had that same out-of-body feeling when I was giving it—but they stared at me like I was nuts and ignored me. But later on, I think they did take it to heart, 'cause they did finally rebel in the end."

"Oh, that's why I found your necklace there..."

"What?"

"Yeah, I was tracking you guys and I ended up on the rig. In a sea of metal and browns, it was pretty easy to spot your blue necklace."

"Wow, really? Well, I guess I'm glad you did find it... but your way of giving it back to me wasn't so very nice!"

Zuko chuckled, and raised his arms to stretch. It really is striking, Katara thought, to see him smile so much and look so content. She couldn't remember seeing him not scowling the entire time he was chasing after them. She mindlessly looked down at the smooth dark pebbles they walked on, and bent over to pick up some flat ones.

"After that little introduction, I feel so exhausted, it's ridiculous."

Katara scowled. "Well, my stupid father was being so mean to you and saying stuff he had no business saying about your past. I bet you were so stressed out, no wonder you're tired now!"

Zuko stared at her for a second, then shook his head. "He has every right to be suspicious, Katara. I wasn't too happy that he said it in front of everyone, but I was honestly much more upset at the fact that the whole Fire Nation actually knew about the Agni Kai. I was told the spectators were sworn to secrecy."

Katara stopped walking and faced him fully. "Zuko, just...what happened that day? I mean... if you don't mind telling me..."

He looked at her with his strange, golden eyes, seemingly sizing her up. But then he smiled, and his gaze softened. "No... I don't mind, not for you. You deserve every right to know. You healed my scar without even knowing how I got it." He lapsed into silence again, as he looked away and resumed a slow walk. "When I was thirteen, I begged my uncle to let me in on a war meeting my dad was holding. Uncle finally agreed to let me in if I agreed not to speak. Well, one of the generals wanted to sacrifice a whole platoon of our youngest troops for some plan of his, and I couldn't take it. I spoke out, which displeased my father. We commonly settle major indignities with an Agni Kai—a fire duel, and I only agreed because I thought I was fighting the general, who was a wheezy old man. But... come the next day... when I turned around... it... it wasn't him... it was my father." Zuko fell into silence, his lips pursed. Katara took his hand and gave it a squeeze, which earned her a surprised look and a faint smile. "I didn't want to fight him, Katara, I _couldn't_ fight him, and I just... I just begged for his forgiveness and whatever." Zuko took a deep breath and sighed. "That just made him angrier, though. As my punishment for being a coward and being disrespectful, he... you know what he did. Anyway, I'm sure the general and those other military high-ranking officers were watching. They of course, invited all their noble friends as well, and so on and so on. The place was packed...

After the Agni Kai, I was in the infirmary. Azula had come to give me the great news that I was banished since my father didn't care to do it himself. She also assured me that the rest of the nation wasn't going to be told of my banishment, just that I was going on a journey...I guess, to explain why I was suddenly going to disappear. I really don't know why I believed her, but I did, like the idiot I was. To my credit, I didn't totally believe her until I asked the royal doctor and nurses as well, and they gave me the same spiel. I'm sure Azula had them under her thumb, she never overlooks anything. Of course the general and those nobles would have spread the juicy gossip; I really don't know why I was surprised."

"How about your uncle?" Katara asked.

"Oh, he told me straight up everyone was gonna know, but I didn't believe him of course. Uncle was the family outcast, right, and I continued to treat him that way for a long, long time..."

Katara stopped walking, took his other hand and looked straight into his eyes, which were so full of guilt and sadness. "Zuko, thank you for telling me about what happened... You will see your uncle again, I'm sure of it." He gave her a small smile, which made her smile even bigger. "Let's have some fun and skip some stones, Zuko!"

He looked at her uncertainly. "Don't we need to go back soon? We were supposed to meet up about the Fire Nation navy coming through..."

She looked toward the little encampment. "We can see the spot we're supposed to meet, silly, and no one's there yet. This won't take long, I'll beat you quick enough."

Zuko chuckled. "You'll regret saying that right about now." He picked up a large flat pebble from her hand and tossed it in the air a few times. Then he took a quick step, arced his arm back and knelt deep into his throw. Katara counted six skips, and frowned slightly. _That's really good... _

"Not bad, not bad," Katara said smugly. "Prepare to be owned!" In a similar fluid motion, she set her pebble flying on the water, and Zuko counted aloud.

"...five...six...sev—en. Cheater." Zuko said, smirking and punching Katara in the arm.

"What! I didn't cheat!" Katara cried. _Ah well, maybe just a little..._

"Yeah, I don't think water, wind, or even earth benders can be trusted in the fine art of stone skipping..."

"How'd you get so good?"

"We have a large pond in the royal gardens where I played a lot as a kid. Lu Ten was the one who showed me how to skip stones."

"He sounds like such a good guy..." Katara said, looking out over the shimmering waters at the other side of the bay.

"He was. He was just always so incredibly nice to everyone, and whenever he had time, he would play with me, even though I was so much younger than he was." Zuko picked up another flat pebble from the beach, handing it to Katara. "Alright, show me what you can do without waterbending."

So this time, Katara did do her best not to automatically fix the surface tension of the water, and got two skips. "Before you say anything, I really did get at least five last—"

"Aahh, I got you to admit it, that was far too easy."

Katara rolled her eyes and punched him on the arm. "I think Toph's rubbing off too much on us..." she said a second later.

Zuko laughed quietly, then looked contemplative. "Thanks, Katara. Thanks for being so supportive of me all the time. I feel like I really don't deserve it, but I'm grateful all the same."

Katara honestly didn't really know what to say to that. It seemed easier to tease, and the heartfelt remark threw her off. "Oh... how can you say you don't deserve it. You deserve it more than anyone I know." Zuko turned to look at her, as if she were some kind of odd specimen. His yellow-gold eyes were unnervingly bright under the shadow of his shaggy bangs as he peered at her.

"I chased you around relentlessly for a year, threatened you, tied you up to a tree, and in one week I'm the most deserving man you've ever known? Haha, you are way too nice, Miss Sugar Queen."

"'Miss Sugar Queen?' Toph really is rubbing off way too much on you!" Katara cried. But, she did know she was letting Zuko off way too easily, and she also knew part of that reason was because she had a crush on him. _Of all the most embarrassing reasons_, she thought, sighing. "Don't worry, Zuko, I'll be exacting payment for your past evil deeds as you hang around with us!"

"That's okay, I know you're too nice to demand anything too awful. Anyway, I see your father out there; I think they're ready to start, c'mon." Katara sighed, and followed Zuko, who looked rather excited about the prospect of a war meeting. _Boys..._

Katara's dad seemed to have brought out some large jug, and was showing it to an excited Aang, Sokka, Jet, and Kuei. Toph was standing far away with her nose buried in Bosco's fur. Momo, who seems to have really taken a liking to Bosco, was mimicking Toph. "I think Dad's brought out one of his silly inventions; this is going to be a long meeting."

Zuko was looking at her curiously again. "Why don't you like your father so much? I know you said it's because he left you guys... but he doesn't seem too bad..."

Katara let out a deep sigh and screwed up her face. "Look, I dunno. I can't get over it, and I know it's stupid and all, but I mean, leaving so soon after Mom died was just the wrong move, and I was so messed up by it. I think he was running away from having to deal with us kids, too, and I can't forgive him for doing that."

Zuko stopped walking, put both his hands on her shoulders, turned her around, and stared right at her. She felt her cheeks heat, and hoped he couldn't hear her heart thumping away. "I think it's probably a lot more complicated than that, and I think deep down, you know that. If I had a guess about why your father left you guys, it would be that he went to go fight the Fire Nation as revenge for your mom—"

"That's so stupid!" Katara automatically retorted, but of course... it made sense. _Men and their need for revenge... Then again... how many times have I wished for revenge for Mom..._

"Well, I think that's what I'd do if I were in his situation. But more importantly, I can't help but think you're wasting precious time hating your father. As stern and imposing as he seems to be, I think he actually cares for you guys quite a bit, and you should return it now that you're with him. You're free to have my father if you're curious about valid reasons for hating your dad."

Katara frowned. "First off, Dad's actually a huge dork like Sokka. He just acts all 'stern and imposing' once in a while for meetings. And I know that I'm being totally stupid about Dad, Zuko, I really do. I don't know why I can't drop this chip on my shoulder, it's not like I'm doing it on purpose..."

Zuko took his hands off her shoulder to her disappointment, and started walking again. "I understand. But from what I learned serving peasants in a tea shop, the more you act nice, the more you actually mean it. Just act like you care, and I'm sure this dislike will fade."

She suddenly laughed. "Really, Zuko, I can't imagine you serving lowly peasants when you were that haughty prince chasing us around. You didn't burn anyone to a crisp, really?"

"There were some close encounters... but Uncle was pretty good about putting out the flames and offering deals no one could refuse," Zuko replied, smirking.

Before they got too close to the half-assembled group, she said in a low voice, "I'll be better about my dad, I promise."

"It should be for your sake, not mine," Zuko said, rolling his eyes.

"Zuko!" Aang called, "Come look at this, this is fantastic!"

"Yeah! Fantastically foul!" Hakoda cried, looking like he just came up with the best idea in the world. Sokka slapped his back and fell to the ground laughing and clutching his stomach. Katara palmed her forehead. _For the thousandth time..._

"Like father, like son..." Bato muttered as Zuko sidled next to him, covering his nose and mouth with a hand and peering at the shadowy mixture in the canister. He looked over at her dad and Sokka guffawing like idiots and then looked at Katara, giving her a look of understanding.

"A-anyway, haha, yeah, Zuko, what you s-see here is my dad's newest invention: the f-fantastically f-foul S-stink n' Sink!" Sokka said, waving a hand at the foul-smelling canister and laughing all over again.

Her dad, composed, but still with a twinkle in his eye, came over to Zuko. Oddly, he didn't seem to notice the smell at all. "Its more official name is the Tangle Mine, but what it is is an explosive device filled with skunkfish and seaweed. Upon detonation, the idea is for the seaweed to entangle the Fire Nation ship propellers and render them immobile. The stench of the skunkfish, meanwhile, is so bad that it will make all the soldiers abandon ship! What do you think?"

Zuko looked totally at a loss for words, though probably not because he was impressed. He moved away from the canister and loosened his hand on his mouth.

"Hab you theshted thish out on any ship yet?" Zuko mumbled through his hand as he scooted further away from the offending mine.

"Nope, but I hope to try it out soon!"

"Well, I think you'll need at least two or three of these mines to successfully tangle one ship's propellers. And anyone inside the ship probably won't smell the fumes, especially the engineers. I also don't know that Fire Nation soldiers would abandon ship that easily..."

"We've brought onboard some skunkfish before," Bato said. "I think Fire Nation soldiers are not quite as hardy as you would hope them to be. However, our plan right now is to take over a Fire Nation ship to use for ourselves. The skunkfish should be able to take care of the majority of the soldiers on deck at least."

Zuko looked confused. "Why do you want a Fire Nation ship?"

"The waters are now all controlled by the Fire Nation, to continue traveling in our ships will cause more trouble for us than we care to deal with," said Hakoda, who raised a hand when Zuko opened his mouth to ask more questions. Katara noted that everyone including the water tribesmen had gathered and were sitting in rows before them. She quickly sat down in the front, next to Kuei, while Zuko, Aang, and Jet sat down next to her. Only Bato stayed standing with her father.

"It seems that everyone is here and assembled. We will begin this meeting with a summary of what we intend to accomplish in the next few weeks. Our goal is to infiltrate the Fire Nation on the day of the eclipse and provide the Avatar a chance to take down the Fire Lord during the eight minutes the Fire Lord can't bend. We have seven weeks until then to recruit allies to join the invasion force. Sokka has given me a list of ideas of people we can recruit, and I also ask Jet, of the Freedom Fighters to revive his group and join us." Jet nodded seriously. "Since the fall of Ba Sing Se, all the waterways are now under enemy hands, and we will be faced with endless Fire Navy reinforcements. Thus, I have decided that we must capture a vessel for our own use and disguise ourselves so that we can travel freely and not be harassed.

"I have here thirty Tangle Mines that I have made that we can use to sabotage the ships' propellers. A Tangle Mine has both seaweed and rotten skunkfish, which floats to the top and its stench is so powerful, soldiers on board almost always jump ship. I have in mind to ask Aang if he can use his Sky Bison to help drop skunkfish bombs on board the other ships. We'll spare the one we want to take over for our sake...skunkfish oil is a bit hard to scrub off the deck, as some of you know..." Groans of understanding sounded behind her, which made Katara wonder what accidents her father had had experimenting with his smelly bombs. "Anyway, the other ships should be more than preoccupied with the stench while we commandeer our victim. Does anyone have any better ideas? Or would like to flesh out this plan?"

After a second of silence, Smellerbee tentatively raised her hand. "So... d-do you have face masks for us to wear? I mean... if the stench is enough to make Fire Nation soldiers jump ship, we might not be able to do anything either..."

The answer was a yes, to everyone's relief.

–

The rich, deep sound of polar-ox's horn used to enchant Katara when the men and the boys blew on it during their practice battles. On the fateful day of her mother's death, when the horn was used for real, the sound was wobbly, scared, and frantic. Now, as Aang and Katara vaporized more bay water into a thick, swirling mist, the deep, hollow sound carried a note of confidence.

Four Fire Navy cruisers were spotted by scouts and were due to arrive in minutes. Tangle mines were already generously placed in the waters all around the entrance of the bay. The water tribe ships were already in place, hidden behind a cliff outcropping. Toph, the self-declared one-woman-catapult army, was also in place on the rocky part of the beach along with Kuei to act as her eyes (with specific instructions to target away from their intended ship). Appa, meanwhile, was already outfitted with a net of skunkfish bombs, and a giant mask on his nose.

"Katara... why don't you join me on Appa first?"

She looked at Aang in confusion. "You know the plan, I can't control the water from up there!"

"No, I mean, the bombing run won't take that long, and you'll need help moving all that water, so we have to do it together, and it's safer up there..." Aang said, scratching the back of his head.

Katara smiled and gave Aang a hug. "Thanks for worrying about me, Aang, but I have to stick close to the water. The Fire Navy doesn't run on a schedule, you know, and redirecting the currents in the water shouldn't be too hard, either, so don't hurry for that reason."

"Yeah..." Aang said, blushing slightly. "Just be careful, you know."

A gurgling sound made both of them look up to see Momo, who carried a freshly woven mask for Aang. The sound of the polar-ox horn filled the cove again and Aang quickly put his mask on and jumped onto Appa, waving to Katara, who was running to the boat in the front. Once on board, her boat set out under the cover of the mist, while the other ships looked on.

* * *

_I often wondered why Iroh had to explain to Zuko's helmsmen in 'The Storm' about how Zuko got burned and banished by his dad. The only explanation I could think of was that they actually did kind of keep it a secret in the Fire Nation, or at least, they didn't advertise the fact that Zuko was banished. But of course there's no way the people in the stands wouldn't spread the word, so of course everyone basically knows now._


	7. Chapter 7: The Battle of Chameleon Bay

**Long time no see, guys! I really apologize for this multi-year hiatus, but I had to deal with life, unfortunately. This chapter actually had been half written for ages and I finally fixed it up! I hope you enjoy it and please drop a review for me!**

* * *

**The Catacombs of Destiny**

Ch 7: The Battle of Chameleon Bay

-k-

In the middle of Chameleon Bay, under the guise of an extremely heavy, white fog, Katara knelt on a small patch of ice with her hands in the water and her eyes closed.

The vibrations in the water were anything but subtle, and she realized that she could kind of 'see' like Toph, except in water._That is, if this is really how Toph saw_, Katara mused. She could just tell from the heavier vibrations that one ship was leading, and by the more subtle vibrations that two followed on the side and one in the rear. She was pretty sure there was some kind of name for that formation, and if Sokka or her dad were here, they'd probably go a step further and bore her with the details. Whatever the case, the ship on the right was going to be their new home! She curled her fingers, gripping the invisible strings of the bay, and moved her hands slowly apart. She felt a little like La when she did this, parting the water current between her left and right hands and feeling the water obey. She continued pulling her hands apart, like she was trying to move molasses, until she felt that the right ship had definitely been split from the other three, and was on its way to the cliff where the ambush was going to take place.

She took her hands out of the water and stood up. With a flick of her wrist, the water rose under the patch of ice and delivered her back onboard Bato's ship. She gave Bato a thumbs up, and pointed through the thick mist to where the cliff was so they could rejoin the group. They had just made out the shadows of the watertribe ships when they heard the first explosion of the Stink n' Sink, followed quickly by several more. Angry yells echoed around, and suddenly, a closer explosion erupted, bringing forth an odor so foul, Katara pushed her mask closer to her nose but her eyes still watered. Plenty of epithets later, _splashes_ could be heard, and Katara waved her arms to lighten the mist around them and their intended victim, which was revealed to be a hulking steel giant. Her heart beat uncontrollably, she couldn't believe her father was actually right about fierce, Fire Nation soldiers jumping ship just because of some foul odor! Eight little Water Tribe ships circled around the giant, but their boats looked ineffectively small...then the next thing she knew, Bato and many others from other ships had shot forth a rope that caught onto the sides of the ship's deck. She grinned eagerly, finally she could see her father and his men in action and instead of just hearing about it! In fact, she was going to be a part of it!

"I could just bend the water to give us a lift to the deck instead, if that's easier…" Katara said.

Bato looked at her uncomprehendingly, and after a second, he smiled. "You're certainly right, Katara, I've been so used to not having benders to fight next to, your idea almost feels like cheating now."

"INCOMING!" Someone cried, and it seemed that the firebenders who were still on board were made of tougher stuff, and had steeled themselves enough from the smell that they were going to rain down a firestorm on their attackers. Katara immediately bended a wave of water to deflect the fireballs from her ship and the other ships near her. She noted that the the fireballs headed toward the other the ships dissipated against a separate wall of fire. Zuko was defending the other ships, she realized.

More cries sounded in the distance, and more splashes followed. Aang must've dropped his stink bombs! Feeling heady from the fact that everything seemed to be going as planned, Katara raised both of her arms and scooped inward, bringing up a gush of water under her ship and the ones next to her toward deck level. Volleys of fire rained on them again, but Katara couldn't break her concentration. The tribesmen reached for their shields, but a gust of wind blew sideways and knocked the fireballs into the water. Katara looked up, and saw a smiling Aang wave to her on Appa. Then he flew off to help Katara bring the water up under the other remaining ships.

Even before Katara got the ships level with the deck, water tribesmen had already clambered onboard and started fighting the firebenders and remaining swordsmen. By the time, Katara stepped onboard and let the water go, Bato had thrown two firebenders overboard, and her father was pitching over a third. Jet and Smellerbee just arrived, and found themselves a couple swordsmen to fight. Katara arced her right hand, bringing a stream of water overhead to crash onto the remaining group of firebenders and warriors off to the side. Some noticed and frantically created a burst of fire, vaporizing half the water. With the remaining water, Katara turned it into a large chunk of ice, bowling off the more hapless swordsmen off the ship. As she was wielding the ice, however, a firebender had snuck behind her and was ready to deliver a fiery chop of his hand when he was kicked to the ground by Zuko.

"Watch yourself!"

"I am!" Katara yelled back angrily.

The firebender got back up, and pummeled them with fireballs which were instantly met with a wall of Zuko's fire.

"A _firebender_! Traitor! What are you doing? Why are with them? Why are you helping them?!" the attacker cried. It was like someone threw a switch and all the action stopped. The remaining four firebenders stared at Zuko, as the water tribe warriors stepped back to watch.

-z-

_Why _are _you helping them?_

Zuko pursed his lips tightly as he looked into the face of his fellow countryman, whose face was white with betrayal and fury. A quick glance at his armor told him he was the captain of the ship. "Because the Fire Nation has lost its honor, and this destructive path she's on must come to an end. But I don't think you'll understand."

The man's expression turned hard. "I don't know what kind of brainwashing these savages did to you, but in case you need an update, our great Fire Nation just took over Ba Sing Se, which has never been done before! The Fire Nation is unbeatable and her honor has never been greater!"

"I said, you won't understand!"

"Try me!"

"Fine," Zuko said, and ripped off his mask. The stench was nauseating, but what he was going to say couldn't be said behind a mask. "Ba Sing Se is a huge victory, yes, but it won't last. We take over nations, but those nations are none too happy with us. Do you really expect that a country as big as the Earth Kingdom will just sit around and let us rule them? They're gonna rebel, and they're gonna rebel with a vengeance! We're absolutely _hated_ all around the world, and what honor is there in that? Have you even noticed this? How can you be proud of being a _monster_?"

Some of the other firebenders looked uneasy, but the captain just looked angrier. "'A shoddy building must be demolished first in order to build a stronger one!' Did you not learn Fire Lord Sozin's fundamental truths? Other nations may cry right now, but they will be grateful after they see how much better our advanced ways are!"

"That is exactly how I thought, until I actually traveled the Earth Kingdom and saw how everyone suffered. No one cares about our 'advancements', especially after being raided and left to rot. It's been a hundred years, and they are _far_ from being grateful. Maybe you should do a tour of our new territories and see for yourself!"

"It pains me to bring justice to a fellow firebender, but clearly you are weak beyond our help; a shame to the Fire Lord! Men!" The captain and two benders immediately punched fireballs at Zuko, who immediately crossed his arms in front of him, creating a fire shield to deflect the attack. From the corner of his eye, he saw the captain veer right and the men running left. Zuko somersaulted forward and spun around with a kick, sending fire arcs billowing outward toward the men. He glanced the merest fraction of the second at the remaining two firebenders who didn't immediately attack him and noticed that they had huddled further into the left corner of the deck to avoid the fight. This confused him, but he wasn't complaining. In that fraction of a second, however, the captain had jumped over the flames to land a flaming punch on Zuko, who ducked just in time to feel his hair singe at the tips. Fire daggers shot forth from his hands as the captain descended upon him with flaming chop, and Zuko circled his right hand up, catching the captain by surprise and searing arm. "You little traitor, who do you think you are!" he screamed and pummeled a barraged of fireballs at Zuko, who backflipped out of the way to the right side of the ship. Once he got up, however, one of the other firebenders attempted to flame kick him in the back. Zuko swerved left, caught his leg in his hands, swung him off the ground, and heaved him overboard. As he turned around, the second firebender tried to punch him, but Zuko ducked and sunk to the ground, sweeping the ground from under the man's feet. As he fell, Zuko caught him and tossed him overboard as well.

Zuko turned around and saw that the captain was now screaming at the other two remaining firebenders who were standing in the corner on the left side of the ship. Zuko swung his arms up, slicing the air with multiple fire arcs directed at the captain. The captain noticed almost too late and threw one of the two firebenders in front of him to take the blow. Zuko gasped in shock at the man's scream of pain, and in that second, the captain had somersaulted over the man and was about to deliver a flaming roundhouse kick to Zuko's head when suddenly, the captain was knocked over in mid-air, a spear protruding from his chest. Zuko looked over and saw Hakoda in the motion of a throw. Shaking somewhat, he nodded gratefully to the chief, who had come over to pitch the screaming captain overboard himself.

Zuko looked at the firebender who the captain used as a shield, and noticed that Katara had already taken the initiative and was healing him. He started walking towards them when the other firebender came up to him hesitantly.

"Uh... P-prince...Zuko...?"

Zuko froze, feeling like a bucket of cold water had been thrown on him. Someone recognized him? Most of the Fire Nation had no idea what he looked like in the first place, and with his shaggy hair and less prominent scar, less people should know. Not even the captain knew! He felt a brief sense of shame, but then wondered why he was so upset at being recognized at all. He should be proud! He stared at the man, who was looking down at his feet.

"Who are you?" Zuko asked.

"I-I served on your ship, Y-your Highness... when you were chasing the Avatar..."

"Oh..." Zuko replied, surprised and suspicious at the same time. Did he really still look that similar to his old self? He felt pretty disappointed if that was the case... But still, it sure seemed mad lucky that of all the ships they could have taken over, one of his tiny crew would be on it. "How'd you recognize me?"

The soldier looked nervous. Zuko wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that he used to treat them like dirt. "I-I w-wasn't entirely certain since Y-your Highness's scar seems to have disappeared a lot, but the outline s-seemed the same. B-but what really gave Y-your Highness away were your fire daggers, 'c-cause me and the o-other firebenders had to—I mean we used to s-spar with you every—almost everyday day and Y-your Highness is the only one I know who uses it.."

Zuko's eyes widened in surprise. He was the only one that liked to use that? He didn't even use it as much as he liked this time around... "Well, I'm happy to see you're alive and well after Zhao took you guys away from me to fight in the Northern Water Tribe invasion. And, uh, thanks for not attacking me; I'm really touched. What's your name?"

"Shen, Your Highness," the man replied, looking really happy. Zuko made an effort to commit the man's name to memory.

"By the way, Shen, I'm no longer your prince, so do me a favor and just call me Zuko."

Shen looked mortified. "I-I can't do that! You're still our prince! Me, Lieutenant Jee, and y-your old crew would follow you to the end!"

Zuko looked at him funny. "Really? I thought you guys hated me. Why this sudden change of heart?"

Now Shen looked uncomfortable, which made Zuko even more suspicious. "W-well, General Iroh told us he believed Y-your Highness would stand up against your father one day, and we kinda made a bet... We all d-don't really believe in the war either, a-actually, which was why G-general Iroh picked us for your crew. I think Commander Z-zhao knew that though, so after he took over, s-some of us got split up, like me, but we were always on the lookout for General Iroh, or Y-your Highness…"

"Hmm, well, Shen, would you really follow me to the end, if I told you I'm helping the Avatar take down the Fire Lord?" Zuko asked, looking dubious.

"Yes, we would, Your Highness," said the other firebender. Zuko looked over at the man, who was being helped up by Katara and Aang. "A lot of soldiers are tired; they don't want to fight anymore and just want to return home. After my first village raid, it was so awful I lost all faith in the Fire Nation...but there wasn't anything I could do. If you lead, Prince Zuko, I'm sure many more like me, who did not serve on your ship, would follow."

Zuko looked over at Hakoda, who was actually smiling at him with what looked like pride. "Uh, Chief Hakoda, this is really your ship now, so what do you think?"

"No, Prince Zuko, this is _our_ ship. You are as much a leader as I am. Do what you feel is best."

_No one's listening to me saying I'm not a prince anymore... _Zuko sighed, and looked back at Shen. "Do you know where Lieutenant Jee is now?"

"W-well, he lost his rank of Lieutenant. Actually, he and some of the other old crew m-might be on the other three ships. A couple of the engineers and the cook from the old crew are on this ship though."

"Oh, that is _perfect_. Inform them immediately, that they are now serving me and Chief Hakoda of the Water Tribe. If any of them have problems with that, then they are free to throw themselves overboard."

"Your Highness, we all also got to know many other fellow disgruntled men who I believe would be happy to serve you, should we inform them as well?"

"Well, if they're as willing to rebel against the crown as you believe, find them, question them, and bring them onboard," Zuko said, looking back at Shen. "I don't need shifty soldiers who are just trying to save their skin, however. Understand? I need to go find Jee."

"Absolutely, Your Highness! We will bring you the best!" The two firebenders gave an enthusiastic salute and ran off into the ship.

"Wow, Zuko, I can't believe you met your old crew!" Katara exclaimed.

"This is unbelievably lucky!" Aang cried. "And you're all taking command again and being princely, so coo—"

Suddenly, a loud explosion boomed in the distance. Katara quickly ran to the bow of the ship and waved her arms frantically, dissipating the rest of the mist from the cove. "It's Toph! She's firing boulders at the other ships!"

"Agni above, I need to find Jee before she kills them all! Aang, can I borrow Appa?"

"I'm coming, too!" Katara cried. Zuko protested her taking up space on Appa, until she reminded him of her first aid abilities in case any of them were really hurt. Two more explosions sounded which stopped any more arguing, and they flew over to Toph and Kuei.

"Toph, party's over! Come on, we'll take you to the ship!"

"What the hell, I just got started!" Toph cried, and immediately unearthed five more boulders in defiance. "Kuei, hurry up, point me in the right direction again!"

"No, no, _nooo_!" Zuko cried helplessly as the five boulders flung themselves into the air toward their three targets. "Dammit, Toph, I need to go rescue some people on those ships!"

"Oh, sorry, Hotman! I didn't know you still had other hotmen friends!" Zuko sighed and quickly explained the situation before dumping her and Kuei onto their new ship.

The closer Zuko and Katara flew to the other ships the worse the stench got, reminding Zuko to put on his mask again. The bay was full of miserable soldiers, and Zuko was feeling hopeless of ever finding his old captain or any of his crew (which he wouldn't recognize anyway). "LIEUTENANT JEE! THIS IS ZUKO! ANSWER ME IF YOU HEAR ME!" Zuko screamed over and over again. A few people waved at him frantically, but none of them looked like Jee, so he ignored them.

Zuko flew over two heavily listing ships that were smoking from the damage Toph wrecked, and saw men trying to deploy lifeboats. "Incoming!" Katara suddenly cried as a flaming boulder came their way, and Appa swerved smoothly to avoid it. The third ship seemed to have sustained the least damage, and the trebuchet operators definitely seemed to be perfectly fine. Katara uncorked her water skin and drew forth a stream of water, which she froze into two large spikes and shot them at their respective trebuchets. Once Appa flew closer, Katara called forth a wave to wipe the operators and other men from the deck.

"Katara, Jee could've been on there!"

"Well if he was, he would've answered by now!"

Zuko cried Jee's name a few more times again before sitting down, despondent. Katara patted him on the back, apologizing for possibly wiping Jee off the deck. Zuko hmphed, and looked away as Katara brought Appa around to head back to the ship.

"Prince Zuko!" multiple voices suddenly called.

Zuko scrambled up and looked over Appa eagerly. Eight men were standing on the bow of one of the listing ships, waving at him. When they approached them, one was indeed, a completely soaked Lieutenant Jee.

Once everyone was situated and they were on their way back to their new ship, Zuko explained the situation to them, and to his surprise, Lieutenant Jee and the other men looked prodigiously proud.

"Did I not say, Lieutenant Jee," one of the men laughed. "Never doubt General Iroh! You lost your bet!"

"A bet I'm happy to lose," Jee said solemnly. "You have no idea, Prince Zuko, just how overjoyed we are to see you changed for the better. Quite a change from the boy who didn't care about the safety of his crew so long ago! May I ask, though, how has your scar healed so much since the last time I saw you?"

Zuko grinned and gestured at Katara. "It's thanks to a wonderfully gifted waterbender. This is Katara, of the Southern Water Tribe."

"No, come off it, it was the Spirit Oasis water, not me!" Katara said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, give me some of that water and I wouldn't be able to do anything with it!"

"You're not a waterbender, idiot. I have a long way to go being a good healer."

"I'd say you're pretty good already," Zuko said, patting her on the shoulder.

"I see..." Jee replied, looking amused. "Prince Zuko, when we get back on deck, be sure to visit the cook when you have a chance."

"The cook?" Zuko gave him a puzzled look and was about to question him more, when they arrived onboard their new home.

The sun shown high in the noon sky when Zuko called together his crew of old and new Fire Nation soldiers on deck. They assembled on the left, while the water tribesmen sat on the right. Katara, Jet, Toph, and the others sat in front of all of them, and Aang, Zuko, and Hakoda stood facing everyone.

Zuko never felt prouder, more in his element, or more anxious in his life. Hakoda nodded to him, and he took a deep breath and stepped forward to face his people.

"Men of the Fire Nation. You are here because you have chosen to serve me, former Prince Zuko, instead of the current Fire Lord. You have chosen an uphill battle with me to free the Fire Nation from endless war and endless tyranny, to bring back peace, respect, and honor that has been lost for a hundred years! Many of you have served me before when I was an outcast, a banished prince whose only goal was to find the Avatar and bring him back to the Fire Lord. Well, men, I have finally found the Avatar, and I do intend to bring him to the Fire Lord, but for a completely different reason." Zuko's men cheered loudly as he placed a hand on Aang's shoulder. "How did this come about, you might ask. After my father marked me for death after the Siege of the North, General Iroh and I wandered lost in the Earth Kingdom lands, where I finally saw firsthand, the pain we've brought to the people of those lands and the hatred the whole world has for the Fire Nation. Even if the Fire Nation conquers the entire world, the Fire Nation will always be plagued with resistance and uprisings. Until we help Avatar Aang take down the Fire Lord right now and restore our honor as a nation, we will never truly know peace ourselves!"

"That's not our only goal, however. Some of you have wondered where my uncle, General Iroh, has gone. I hate to inform you, but Azula has him in her clutches. General Iroh sacrificed his freedom to hold off Azula and a swarm of Dai Li agents to let me and the Avatar's group escape Ba Sing Se. I believe he may be in the Capital's prison tower, or, in Ba Sing Se. We need scouts to find that out. This is our first order of business, the highest priority. Until then, I need other scouts to unearth other disgruntled Fire Nation troops and bring them to our cause." Zuko paused, trying to think of what else to say. "You are here, on this ship with members of the Southern Water Tribe. While we may be elemental opposites, we are first and foremost friends and allies. Different skills, different approaches, and different techniques exist to be learned from. Differences make us stronger, and I expect everyone to learn, keep an open mind, and adapt to one another. If, at any time, any of you feel you can't handle that or if your overall resolve has weakened, feel free to jump ship. I will not bother to hunt you down and kill you like a Fire Nation conscript. Understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The entire side of Fire Nation soldiers bellowed and cheered, making Zuko's lips tremble and his eyes water slightly. He had never seen his men half this happy before, and he had never felt so loved by his own people.

* * *

**Hey guys, I've been getting plenty of favorites and followers and I really, really appreciate it, but I would be so much happier and have much more motivation to continue this if you guys would drop me a positive review as well! Thank you!**


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